Member states of BRICS
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 | Official languages | Leaders | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil | Brasília | 8,515,767 | b 203,062,512 | 25 | 18,686 | 0.754 | Brazilian real (R$) (BRL) | Portuguese also see Languages of Brazil | Head of State: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | September 2006 |
 | Russia Russian Federation | Moscow | 17,075,400 | b146,519,759 | 8.3 | 24,449 | 0.822 | Russian rouble (₽) (RUB) | Russian also see Languages of Russia | Head of State: Vladimir Putin Head of Government: Mikhail Mishustin | September 2006 |
 | India Republic of India | New Delhi | 3,287,240 | a1,284,480,000 | 364.4 | 10,484 | 0.640 | Indian rupee (₹) (INR) | Hindi (Devanagari script) English Also see Languages of India | Head of State: Droupadi Murmu Head of Government: Narendra Modi | September 2006 |
 | China[a] People's Republic of China | Beijing | 9,640,011[b] | a1,374,820,000 | 139.6 | 21,224 | 0.727 | Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥) (CNY) | Standard Chinese[8] written in simplified characters[8] see also languages of China | Head of State: Xi Jinping Head of Government: Li Qiang | September 2006 |
 | South Africa Republic of South Africa | Pretoria (executive) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judicial) | 1,221,037 | b 58,048,332 | 42.4 | 16,090 | 0.713 | South African rand (R) (ZAR) | 12 languages | Head of State: Cyril Ramaphosa | 2010-12-24 |
 | Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt | Cairo | 1,010,408 | c105,231,000 | 103.56 | 16,980 | 0.731 | Egyptian pound (LE) (EGP) | Arabic | Head of State: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Head of Government: Moustafa Madbouly | 2024-01-01 |
 | Ethiopia Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 1,104,300 | c105,163,988 | 92.7 | 3,724 | 0.498 | 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 | Tehran | 1,648,195 | c79,011,700 | 48.0 | 17,443 | 0.766 | Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR) | Persian | Head of State: Ali Khamenei Head of Government: Ebrahim Raisi | 2024-01-01 |
 | United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | 83,600 | 4,106,427 | 121 | 78,255 | 0.911 | UAE dirham (AED) | Arabic | Head 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]
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.[14]
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.[15]
Notes
- ^ The sovereignty of China is disputed. Since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China (ROC), which was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which succeeded the former Qing dynasty's territories on mainland China, while the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were under Japanese rule at the time. The ROC gained control over the latter after the surrender of Japan in 1945, but soon lost its control of mainland to the communists due to the Chinese Civil War. The ROC government was relocated to Taipei in 7th December 1949 as its provisional capital and retains actual rule over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu, and other minor islands, all of which are collectively known as "Free Area" or Taiwan Area in contrast to Mainland China being under communist rule, thus making it a de facto island nation, and has become known colloquially as simply "Taiwan" due to the island of Taiwan forming the majority of the ROC-controlled territories; nonetheless, the ROC has not officially renounced its constitutional-defined territories which include areas effectively controlled by the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic) etc. If claimed territories were taken into account, the ROC would not be a borderless country, nor a country centred around a major island. The ROC-controlled territories are also claimed by the People's Republic of China. Constitutionally, the ROC on Taiwan still views itself as the continuation of former Chinese republic, with legitimate sovereignty over mainland China despite no actual control. See: Political status of Taiwan, Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China, Two Chinas, One-China policy, and Cross-strait relations.
- ^ The actual area under PRC control is 9,596,960.
- ^ The Palestinian Declaration of Independence proclaims the "establishment of the State of Palestine on our Palestinian territory with its capital Jerusalem (Al-Quds Ash-Sharif)." Israel exercises de facto control over Jerusalem, but neither state’s claims to Jerusalem are widely recognized by the international community. Ramallah is the administrative capital where government institutions and foreign representative offices are located, while most countries maintain their embassies to Israel in Tel Aviv.
- ^ Information from the University of Pennsylvania's Center for African Studies estimates that about 90% of the Senegalese population understands or speaks Wolof as a first or second language.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "New era as South Africa joins BRICS" Archived 18 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine . SouthAfrica.info. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ "S. Africa Joins; BRIC Now BRICS, 13 de abril de 2011". Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- ^ "BRICS Gain Global Influence as South Africa Joins, Medvedev Says". Bloomberg.com. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ Fletcher, Owen (2011-04-13). "China Seeks Heft for 'BRICS'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ Nagashybayeva, Gulnar (November 2016). "Research Guides: BRICS: Sources of Information: Introduction". guides.loc.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
- ^ a b at purchasing power parity, per capita, in international dollars (rounded IMF 2012)
- ^ a b at Human Development Index (New 2013 Estimates for 2012)
- ^ a b Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)
- ^ Saudi Arabia has not yet joined BRICs - minister
- ^ a b "MSN". MSN.
- ^ "Table 3, Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density" (PDF). Demographic Yearbook. United Nations Statistics Division. 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ According to Article 4 of the 1994 Paris Protocol Archived 1 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. The Protocol allows the Palestinian Authority to adopt multiple currencies. In the West Bank, the Israeli new sheqel and Jordanian dinar are widely accepted; while in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli new sheqel and Egyptian pound are widely accepted.
- ^ "African Studies Center| African Languages at Penn". Center for African Studies at University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ "El gobierno de Javier Milei oficializó que la Argentina no entrará a los Brics". LA NACIÓN (in Spanish). 2023-12-29. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Why Indonesia chose autonomy over BRICS membership". East Asia Forum. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
