Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa & Beyond

What Is BRICS?

BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, a bloc of countries that formed a partnership following the creation of the term “BRIC” in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill. It didn’t include South Africa at the time. O’Neill believed that by 2050, the original four BRIC economies would come to dominate the global economy. South Africa was added to the list in 2010. The BRICS countries seek economic cooperation among member nations to increase their economic and political standing in the world. They stand for economic policies independent of the U.S. and its allies. The organization expanded again in 2024 and 2025, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joining as full members. The group also includes an additional 10 partner countries.

Exploring BRICS’ Economic Influence

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa ranked among the world’s fastest-growing emerging market economies for much of the early 2000s. This was thanks to lower labor costs, favorable demographics, and abundant natural resources, all of which occurred during a global commodities boom.

The organization has undergone significant expansion since 2024. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined as full members in 2024, followed by Indonesia in January 2025, bringing total membership to 11 countries. BRICS also introduced “partner countries” in January 2025, with 10 countries—Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam—granted this status.

The group began in 2009 with a set of joint priorities:

• Working to resolve regional problems, such as the Iranian nuclear program and conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan.
• Tackling financial and economic issues like reforms at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Establishing the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism

While the acronym BRIC (and eventually BRICS) originated as a thesis about future growth among a core set of commodity-based economies, it wasn’t initially envisioned as a political alliance, such as the Eurasian Economic Union. Yet, as more countries have joined BRICS, either as members or partners, in the mid-2020s, it’s looking far more likely that this is what it might become, covering almost a third of the world’s gross domestic product by 2030, according to our review of International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.

The Evolution and History of BRICS

The origins of BRICS trace to 2001 when Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill coined the term “BRIC” to describe four major emerging economies he said would reshape the global economic landscape. O’Neill’s investment thesis predicted that Brazil, Russia, India, and China would grow to potentially dominate the world economy by 2050.

What started as an analytical framework gradually evolved into diplomatic cooperation. Informal meetings among the foreign ministers of the four countries began in 2006, leading to the first official BRIC summit on June 16, 2009, in Yekaterinburg, Russia. At this inaugural summit, the leaders adopted the BRIC acronym and established their partnership as a formal diplomatic bloc.

The group’s first major expansion came in 2010 when South Africa joined, transforming BRIC into BRICS. For over a decade, BRICS operated as a five-member organization focused on economic cooperation and providing an alternative voice to Western-dominated institutions. The bloc positioned itself as representing the interests of the Global South and emerging economies in international forums.

The Second Wave

A second major expansion came in 2024, marking the organization’s most significant growth since its founding. At the 2023 Johannesburg summit, BRICS extended invitations to six countries: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Argentina ultimately declined under President Javier Milei, who oriented his country toward Western alignment.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates officially joined as full members in January 2024, followed by Indonesia in January 2025, bringing the total membership to 11 countries.

In October 2024, at the Kazan summit in Russia, BRICS introduced a new “partner country” category to accommodate growing international interest. This tier allows broader participation without requiring full membership commitments. Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam were made partners in January 2025.

Operational Structure of BRICS

What started as an investment thesis gradually evolved into diplomatic cooperation. Informal meetings among the foreign ministers of the four countries began in 2006, culminating in the first official BRIC summit in 2009, held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. At this inaugural summit, the leaders adopted the BRIC acronym and established their partnership as a formal diplomatic bloc.

BRICS aims to counter the traditional Western-led global order, with some members seeing it as a way to increase their global influence. However, the rapid expansion has also introduced new complexities, as member nations may disagree on fundamental factors such as economic and financial transparency, governance approaches, and often have their own regional conflicts—sometimes with another BRICS member or partner nation.

The organization has grown to represent more than half the world’s population and accounts for a significant portion of global economic output, which is expected to increase from 30.1% to 32.4% of global GDP from 2025 to 2030, according to our analysis of IMF figures.

The group functions as an informal alliance that meets yearly at the BRICS convention to foster economic cooperation. The head of state of a member nation serves as the chair of the group, a role that rotates annually.

Origins of the BRIC Thesis by Goldman Sachs

In 2001, Goldman Sach’s O’Neill noted that while global gross domestic product (GDP) was set to rise 1.7% in 2002, BRIC nations were forecast to grow more quickly than the Group of Seven (G7). The G7 are the world’s seven most advanced global economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

In the paper “Building Better Economic BRICS,” O’Neill outlined his view of the potential of the BRIC nations.

In 2003, O’Neill’s Goldman colleagues Dominic Wilson and Roopa Purushothaman followed up with their report “Dreaming with BRICS: The Path to 2050.”

The two authors claimed that by 2050, the BRIC cluster could grow to a size larger than the G6 (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S., and the U.K.), and the world’s largest economies would therefore look drastically different in four decades. That is, the largest global economic powers no longer would be the richest according to income per capita.

In 2007, Goldman published another report, “BRICS and Beyond,” that focused on BRIC’s growth potential, the environmental impact of these growing economies, and the sustainability of their rise.

The report also outlined a Next 11, a term for 11 emerging economies, in relationship to the BRIC nations, as well as the ascendancy of new global markets.

The Decline and Closure of Goldman’s BRICS Fund

BRICS economies’ growth slowed after the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the 2014 oil price drop.

By 2015, the BRICS acronym no longer looked like an attractive investment venue, and funds aimed at these economies either shut down or merged with other investment vehicles.

Goldman Sachs merged its BRICS investment fund, which was focused on generating returns from these economies, with its broader Emerging Markets Equity Fund. The fund lost 88% of its assets from a 2010 peak.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Goldman Sachs stated that it did not expect “significant asset growth in the foreseeable future” in the BRICS fund. Per a Bloomberg report, the fund lost 21% in five years.

The Bottom Line

BRICS initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa added to the organization in 2010. It added new members again in 2024 and in 2025. BRICS’ core mission is to foster economic cooperation among its members, enhancing their global economic and political power and influence. BRICS countries account for a substantial share of global GDP and act as a counterbalance to the Western-led global order. Important developments like the New Development Bank and the BRICS Parliamentary Forum have facilitated sustainable development and inter-parliamentary cooperation. The organization faces headwinds as potential disagreements among members concerning financial transparency and governance approaches could affect the group’s cohesion and growth.