About BRICS

What is BRICS?

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The grouping was originally known as “BRIC” before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The term was first coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in a 2003 report, which speculated that India and China will grow to become the world’s leading suppliers of manufactured goods and services, respectively, and Brazil and Russia will become dominant raw materials suppliers. In addition O’Neill theorized that by 2050 these four economies would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers. As of 2015, the five BRICS countries represent over 3 billion people, or 42% of the world population; as all five members are in the top 25 of the world by population, and four are in the top 10. The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, equivalent to approximately 20% of the gross world product, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.