BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs. Since 2009, the governments of the BRICS states have met annually at formal summits. Russia hosted the most recent 13th BRICS Summit on 9 September 2021 virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs") before the induction of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS have a combined area of 39,746,220 km2 (15,346,101.0 sq mi) and an estimated total population of about 3.21 billion, or about 26.656% of the world land surface and 41.53% of the world population. Four out of five members are among the world's ten largest countries by population and by area, except for South Africa, the twenty-fourth in both.
Members of G20, as of 2018, these five states had a combined nominal GDP of US$19.6 trillion, about 23.2% of the gross world product, a combined GDP (PPP) of around US$40.55 trillion (32% of the world's GDP PPP), and an estimated US$4.46 trillion in combined foreign reserves. The BRICS have received both praise and criticism from numerous commentators. Bilateral relations among BRICS states are conducted mainly based on non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit. The existence of the BRICS grouping does not signify a formal or informal alliance; there are multiple economic, territorial, and political disputes between the five governments.
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