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BRICS 2026: Five Facts About the Expanding Global Bloc

BRICS is a group of countries that work together on important economic and global issues.

The name BRIC was first created by economist Jim O’Neill in 2001.

Brazil, Russia, India and China later began meeting as leaders.

South Africa joined in 2010, adding the “S” to BRICS.

The group is not a military team like NATO.

Its members can disagree about world events while still cooperating.

BRICS also created a bank to help fund development projects.

In 2026, its 11 members include almost half of the world’s population.

Key facts

Original term: “BRIC” was coined by Jim O’Neill in a 2001 research paper.
First summit: The first BRIC leaders’ summit took place in 2009.
Current membership: BRICS has 11 full members in 2026.
Population: The members have an estimated combined population of approximately 4.01 billion.
Global share: The grouping represents roughly 48.3% of the world’s estimated 8.30 billion people.
Development bank: The New Development Bank was established by the five original members to finance infrastructure and sustainable-development projects.
BRICS Sherpa: A senior government official who handles negotiations and preparatory work before leaders’ meetings.

businesstoday.in · 5 hrs ago