In 2001, Goldman Sachs predicted that a group of developing and newly industrialized countries
could come to dominate Western economies.
Since then, those countries have exploded in growth, and changed the landscape of world
politics.
So, what are the BRICS countries?
BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Those five countries comprise nearly half of the world’s population, a quarter of
the world’s landmass, and a fifth of the world’s GDP.
Their combined GDP is nearly that of the United States, and growing.
A major aspect of their alliance is the formation of the New Development Bank, to compete with
the IMF and the World Bank.
This gives them greater leeway to loan each other and other countries money for development,
unrestricted by Western influence.
Estimates as to their rate of growth tend to vary.
Some say that they’ll overtake the G7 economies by 2027.
Others suggest that they might achieve that goal by 2050.
This will largely be fueled by the rapid expansion of the middle class, and higher GDP per capita.
At the forefront is China.
In 2013, they passed the $4 trillion-dollar mark in trade, and passed the United States
to become the largest trade country in the world.
China’s GDP could rival the US’s by 2020, as it is already the 2nd largest economy.
India’s expansion has led to the prosperity of the middle-class in recent years.
Part of this is due to the fact that 10 of the 30 fastest-growing urban areas in the
world are located in India.
Brazil, which is oil and iron rich, grew to become the 6th largest economy in the world
in 2012, briefly overtaking the United Kingdom.
Russia, however, has seen economic difficulty and a declining population.
Recent sanctions and geopolitical problems have increasingly isolated Russia from the
rest of the BRICS.
The final country, South Africa, was added to the group in 2010, despite having a significantly
lower population and economy than any of the other.
However, South Africa is the strongest African economy, and provides a significant foothold
on the continent for China and India.
Despite their strong growth, many have said it will be unsustainable as resources are
depleted.
A growing population will rapidly deplete them, and could sabotage the ability to grow
at the same pace.
Another critique is the overt dominance of China’s economy.
Without China, the BRICS would have little political clout, and this gives China veto
power over BRICS issues.
In fact, China’s economy alone is larger than the rest of the BRICS combined.
Additionally, all five countries have mixed records on human rights, and ongoing conflicts
with their neighboring countries.
Regardless, the BRICS have seen significant growth in recent years.
Even if they don’t become the world’s dominant economies, they’ll still have far
surpassed any expectations from the 20th century.
Want to learn about how powerful these countries are on their own?
We’ve covered each of them in these five videos.
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