Member states of BRICS explained

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa formed by the 2010 addition of South Africa to the predecessor BRIC.[1] [2] [3] [4] The original acronym "BRIC", or "the BRICs", was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill to describe fast-growing economies that he predicted would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050.[5] The 15th BRICS summit in 2023 saw the expansion of the organization for the first time since the inclusion of South Africa.

Member states

Flag Country
Capital
Area
(km2)
Population
(2016)
Density
(/km2)
GDP per cap.
(PPP)
[6]
HDI[7] Currency
Leaders Accession
Brazil
Federative Republic of Brazil
8,515,767 b 203,062,512 25Brazilian real (R$)
(BRL)
Portuguese
also see Languages of Brazil
Head of State2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006)
Russia
Russian Federation
17,075,400 b146,519,759 8.3Russian rouble (₽)
(RUB)
Russian
also see Languages of Russia
Head of State

Vladimir Putin
Head of Government: Mikhail Mishustin

2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006)
India
Republic of India
New Delhi3,287,240 a1,284,480,000 364.4Indian rupee ()
(INR)
Hindi (Devanagari script)
English
Also see Languages of India
Head of State

Droupadi Murmu
Head of Government: Narendra Modi

2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006)
China
People's Republic of China
Beijing9,640,011a1,374,820,000139.6 Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥)
(CNY)
Standard Chinese[8]
written in simplified characters
see also languages of China
Head of State

Xi Jinping
Head of Government: Li Qiang

2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006)
South Africa
Republic of South Africa
Pretoria (executive)
Cape Town (legislative)
Bloemfontein (judicial)
1,221,037 b 58,048,332 42.4South African rand (R)
(ZAR)
12 languagesHead of State2010-12-24
Egypt
Arab Republic of Egypt
Cairo1,010,408 c105,231,000 103.56 Egyptian pound (LE)
(EGP)
ArabicHead of State

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Head of Government: Moustafa Madbouly

2024-01-01
Ethiopia
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Addis Ababa1,104,300 c105,163,988 92.7 Ethiopian birr (BR)
(ETB)
Afar
Amharic
Oromo
Somali
Tigrinya
Head of State

Sahle-Work Zewde
Head of Government: Abiy Ahmed

2024-01-01
Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran1,648,195 c79,011,700 48.0 Iranian rial (Rl)
(IRR)
PersianHead of State

Ali Khamenei
Head of Government: Ebrahim Raisi

2024-01-01
United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi83,6004,106,427121UAE dirham (AED)ArabicHead of State

Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Head of Government: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

2024-01-01

Countries that have applied for membership

Saudi Arabia was invited to join at the 15th BRICS summit, but has not yet formalised its approval to become a BRICS member.[9]

While Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates were not admitted as members during the 15th BRICS summit, they were among 22 countries applying for membership. South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said “There is a second batch of countries that are going to be added [to] BRICS." This means that there are plans for further BRICS expansion and the following countries are possible candidates due to their applications for membership [10]

Flag Country
Capital
Area
(km2)
Population
(2016)
Density
(/km2)
Currency
Leaders Application Submitted when
Algeria
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
2,381,741 c44,700,000 17.7 Algerian dinar (DZD) ArabicHead of State

Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Head of Government: Nadir Larbaoui

2022 (Expected to join in next expansion)
Bahrain
Kingdom of Bahrain
Manama7801,504,3651,864Bahraini dinar (BHD)ArabicHead of State

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Head of Government: Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Bangladesh
People's Republic of Bangladesh
148,460 c169,828,911 1,305 Bangladeshi taka (BDT) BengaliHead of State and Government

Mohammed Shahabuddin

2023
Belarus
Republic of Belarus
Minsk207,595 c9,498,700 45.8 Belarusian rubel (Rbl)
(BYR)
Belarusian
Russian
Head of State

Alexander Lukashenko
Head of Government: Roman Golovchenko

2023
Bolivia
Plurinational State of Bolivia
Sucre1,098,581 c12,186,079 10.4Boliviano
(BOB)
Head of State and Government

Luis Arce

2023
Cuba
Republic of Cuba
Havana109,884 d10,985,974 101.8 Cuban peso
(CUP)
SpanishHead of State

Miguel Díaz-Canel
Head of Government: Manuel Marrero Cruz

2023
Kazakhstan
Republic of Kazakhstan
Astana2,724,900 d17,670,900 5.94 Kazakhstani tenge (₸)
(KZT)
Kazakh (National)
Russian
Head of State

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Head of Government: Alihan Smaiylov

2023
Kuwait
State of Kuwait
Kuwait City17,818 c4,294,621 200.2Kuwaiti dinarArabicHead of State

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Head of Government: Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah

2023
Palestine
State of Palestine
Jerusalem (claimed)
Ramallah
6,020[11] <-- Area should match List of countries and dependencies by area -->c5,483,450 731ArabicHead of State

Mahmoud Abbas
Head of Government: Mohammad Mustafa

2023
Senegal
Republic of Senegal
Dakar196,712 d18,384,660 68.7 West African CFA franc
(XOF)
Wolof
French
Pulaar
Head of State

Macky Sall
Head of Government: Amadou Ba

2023
Thailand
Kingdom of Thailand
Bangkok513,120 c64,785,909 132.1Baht (฿)
(THB)
ThaiHead of State and Government

Paetongtarn Shinawatra

Venezuela
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Caracas916,445 d30,518,260 33.74 SpanishHead of State and Government

Nicolás Maduro

2023
Vietnam
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Hanoi128,069 c96,208,984 295Vietnamese đồng
(₫)
(VND)
VietnameseHead of State

Nguyễn Phú Trọng (as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam)
Võ Văn Thưởng (as President)
Head of Government: Phạm Minh Chính

2023

Previous applicants

In 2022, Argentina formally submitted an application for BRICS membership under Alberto Fernández's government. Argentina was invited to join at the subsequent 2023 summit, but the country declined the offer to join the bloc in the aftermath of Javier Milei's victory in that year's presidential election.[12]

In 2011, Indonesia considered the possibility of joining BRICS. In 2022 the country formally submitted an application, but Indonesian president Joko Widodo decided to not join the group and remove the application because it was considered a rushed decision. Widodo said that in a future he would probably reapply, but Indonesia is out for now.[13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.southafrica.info/global/brics/brics-080411.htm "New era as South Africa joins BRICS"
  2. Web site: 15 April 2011. 24 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110224221845/http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2011_02_19_S_Africa_Joins_BRIC_Now_BRICS.html. S. Africa Joins; BRIC Now BRICS, 13 de abril de 2011.
  3. 2021-03-27. 2011-04-12. Bloomberg.com. en. BRICS Gain Global Influence as South Africa Joins, Medvedev Says.
  4. 2021-03-27. 2011-04-13. Owen. 0099-9660. Wall Street Journal. en-US. Fletcher. China Seeks Heft for 'BRICS'.
  5. Web site: Nagashybayeva . Gulnar . November 2016 . Research Guides: BRICS: Sources of Information: Introduction . 2023-07-23 . guides.loc.gov . en-US.
  6. at purchasing power parity, per capita, in international dollars (rounded IMF 2012)
  7. at Human Development Index (New 2013 Estimates for 2012)
  8. http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-09/19/content_64906.htm Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)
  9. https://www.reuters.com/world/saudi-arabia-has-not-yet-joined-brics-minister-2024-01-16/?taid=65a6e621bfa4950001885455 Saudi Arabia has not yet joined BRICs - minister
  10. Web site: MSN . .
  11. Book: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012/Table03.pdf . Table 3, Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density . Demographic Yearbook . 2012 . . 28 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171015114145/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012.htm . 15 October 2017 . live .
  12. Web site: 2023-12-29 . El gobierno de Javier Milei oficializó que la Argentina no entrará a los Brics . 2023-12-29 . LA NACIÓN . es . 29 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231229134619/https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-gobierno-de-javier-milei-oficializo-que-la-argentina-no-entrara-a-los-brics-nid29122023/ . live .
  13. Web site: 2023-10-25 . Why Indonesia chose autonomy over BRICS membership . 2024-01-13 . East Asia Forum . en.