Geopolitics › Alliances & institutions
BRICS and its 2024–25 expansion
First summit 2009; expanded 2024–25· Alliance or organization
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
A club of big emerging economies, founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China, that expanded in 2024–25 to ten members.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill coined 'BRIC' in 2001; leaders first met in 2009, and South Africa joined in 2010. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE joined in 2024 and Indonesia in January 2025; Saudi Arabia was invited but has not clearly accepted. Ten 'partner countries', such as Vietnam and Nigeria, have looser ties. Members hold nearly half the world's people and roughly 40% of its output at purchasing-power parity. It runs the New Development Bank in Shanghai.
Why it matters
It gives emerging powers a forum outside Western-led institutions and amplifies calls to reform the IMF and UN, but members such as India and China, or Iran and the UAE, often disagree.
Key facts and numbers
Summit declarations (Kazan 2024, Rio 2025), New Development Bank reports, IMF data, and O'Neill's 2001 paper 'Building Better Global Economic BRICs'.
What to watch
Outlook: whether it becomes a coherent counterweight to the West or stays a loose forum; most analysts expect the latter, given rivalries among members.
Inside this (1)
Connections (9)
▸Brazil is a founding member of BRICS and its 2024–25 expansionFact
The relationship
Brazil was one of the original four BRIC countries and uses the bloc to push for a bigger Global South voice in the IMF, World Bank and UN, while trading with both China and the West. Former president Dilma Rousseff heads the New Development Bank, and Brazil hosted the 2025 summit in Rio.
Since when and why
First BRIC summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, June 2009, during Lula's second term; Rio de Janeiro summit, July 6–7, 2025.
How we know
Summit declarations, including the 2025 Rio declaration, and New Development Bank records showing Rousseff as president since 2023.
What to watch
Whether Brazil can stay nonaligned as the bloc's members include Iran and Russia, especially after Trump's 2025 threat of extra tariffs on countries aligning with BRICS.
▸South Africa is a member of BRICS and its 2024–25 expansionFact
The relationship
South Africa joined the original four, adding the 'S' and an African voice. It hosted the 2023 Johannesburg summit that invited six new members, the bloc's first big expansion. Pretoria sees BRICS as a vehicle for nonalignment, which has strained ties with Washington, already tense over its genocide case against Israel.
Since when and why
Invited in December 2010; first summit April 2011 in Sanya, China; Johannesburg summit, August 22–24, 2023.
How we know
BRICS summit records and the 2023 Johannesburg II Declaration announcing the invitations.
What to watch
Whether South Africa's economy, far smaller than China's or India's, gives it real weight in the bloc, and whether US pressure forces a choice.
▸Ethiopia is a member of BRICS and its 2024–25 expansionFact
The relationship
Ethiopia joined BRICS on January 1, 2024, one of four new members, despite a debt default and a recent civil war. Addis Ababa sought New Development Bank finance and a bigger diplomatic platform, helped by close ties with China, its largest bilateral creditor. Rival Egypt joined at the same time, bringing their Nile dam dispute inside.
Since when and why
Invited at the Johannesburg summit, August 2023; joined January 1, 2024, alongside Egypt, Iran and the UAE.
How we know
BRICS summit declarations and Ethiopian government statements welcoming membership.
What to watch
What tangible gains Ethiopia has won, such as loans or trade, is unclear; analysts see the benefit mostly as prestige and diversification away from the West.
▸India is a founding member of BRICS and its 2024–25 expansionFact
The relationship
India co-founded BRIC with Brazil, Russia and China to give big emerging economies more say. It uses the bloc to push reform of the IMF and UN, but resists turning it anti-Western, opposes a common BRICS currency and is wary of China's growing weight inside it.
Since when and why
Foreign ministers first met in 2006; first summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. India chaired BRICS in 2026 and hosted the New Delhi summit on September 12–13.
How we know
BRICS summit declarations, including the 2026 New Delhi Declaration, and Indian ministers' public statements rejecting de-dollarization as a goal.
What to watch
Whether an expanded, China-heavy BRICS still serves India's interests, and how Trump's tariff threats against BRICS members shape its role.
▸China (People's Republic of China) is a founding member of BRICS and its 2024–25 expansionFact
The relationship
China is by far the largest BRICS economy, about two-thirds of the original five's combined output. It backed the 2024–25 expansion to widen its diplomatic coalition and promotes trade settled in yuan. That weight worries India and Brazil, which do not want the bloc to become a Chinese-led, anti-Western club.
Since when and why
Founding BRIC summit, June 2009; Beijing hosted the 2017 Xiamen summit and pressed for expansion before the 2023 Johannesburg summit.
How we know
IMF GDP data, summit declarations, and diplomatic reporting on Chinese and Russian advocacy for expansion against Indian and Brazilian caution.
What to watch
Whether China wants BRICS as a rival to the G7 or a looser coalition, and whether Xi's absence from the 2025 Rio summit signaled waning interest.
▸BRICS and its 2024–25 expansion is often cast as a rival to G7 (Group of Seven)Widely agreed
The relationship
Commentators often pit BRICS against the G7, noting that BRICS members' combined output at purchasing-power parity now exceeds the G7's. But BRICS has no shared values or strategy, and India, Brazil and the UAE stay close to the West. Many analysts see it more as a hedge than a rival bloc.
Since when and why
The comparison spread after O'Neill's 2001 paper; BRICS's PPP share passed the G7's around 2020–23, depending on the data used.
How solid?
IMF World Economic Outlook data; the 'rival' framing is an interpretation, which members such as India explicitly reject.
What to watch
Whether BRICS will ever coordinate like the G7 on sanctions, finance or security; most analysts doubt it, given internal rivalries.
▸Prabowo Subianto took Indonesia into BRICS and its 2024–25 expansionFact
The relationship
Indonesia had hesitated under Joko Widodo, but Prabowo moved fast: within weeks of taking office it confirmed its bid, and it became BRICS' first Southeast Asian full member in January 2025. He presents this as non-alignment, joining BRICS while also seeking OECD membership and courting Washington.
Since when and why
Announced by Brazil, the BRICS chair, on January 6, 2025; Prabowo attended the Rio de Janeiro summit in July 2025.
How we know
Brazil's official announcement, Indonesian foreign ministry statements and BRICS summit declarations.
What to watch
Whether membership brings real benefits, such as New Development Bank financing, and how it squares with Trump's threats of extra tariffs on BRICS-aligned countries.
▸BRICS and its 2024–25 expansion champions Multipolar world and the rise of middle powersFact
The relationship
BRICS declarations repeatedly call for a more just, democratic and multipolar world order, meaning less US and Western dominance in finance and diplomacy. Members push for IMF voting reform, more trade in local currencies and a bigger Global South role at the UN. The expansion itself is presented as proof that power is spreading.
Since when and why
The language runs from the first 2009 Yekaterinburg statement through the Kazan (2024) and Rio (2025) declarations.
How we know
The texts of BRICS summit declarations; whether the world is truly becoming multipolar is an outlook, not a fact.
What to watch
Debated: whether a 'multipolar' order means fairer global governance, as members say, or cover for Chinese and Russian ambitions, as critics argue.
▸BRICS and its 2024–25 expansion debates alternatives to Dollar dominance vs de-dollarization (yuan, gold, SWIFT rivals)Fact
The relationship
BRICS summits discuss trading in local currencies, linking payment systems and expanding the New Development Bank's lending in non-dollar currencies. Russia and Iran push hardest and Brazil's Lula questions dollar reliance; India rejects replacing the dollar outright. Trump has threatened extra tariffs on members that undermine it, and no common currency is planned.
Since when and why
Kazan summit, October 2024, with cross-border payment proposals; Rio de Janeiro, July 2025; New Delhi under India's 2026 chair.
How we know
Summit declarations, New Development Bank reports and members' statements; dollar shares in IMF and SWIFT data have changed little.
What to watch
Whether payment links such as the proposed BRICS Pay ever work at scale, and whether rivalries among members, notably India and China, cap cooperation.