In 2001, Jim O’Neill, then an economist at Goldman Sachs, coined “BRIC” to describe Brazil, Russia, India and China: four large emerging economies whose weight in the world economy was expected to grow. The acronym was an analytical convenience, not a geopolitical project. The four governments initially shared little beyond the fact that investors were becoming interested in them. An acronym designed for investors has since become a diplomatic institution.
The countries began meeting in 2006 and held their first leaders’ summit in 2009. South Africa joined in 2011. Since 2024, the club has expanded further, taking in Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, followed by Indonesia in 2025. Saudi Arabia is also now counted among the 11 members. Together, they account for roughly half of the world’s population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade. Such figures make BRICS hard to ignore. They do not, however, make it a coherent geopolitical bloc.
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