Chart of the Week: New BRICS recruits have at least one thing in common

Not even Jim O’Neill could have imagined the impact that his term ‘BRIC’ would create. The former Goldman Sachs economist coined the acronym in 2001 to bucket together a group of populous and fast-growing emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was later added, and the countries officially formed the BRICS grouping, whose heads of state meet once a year. Now the group is to expand further, with six countries invited to join from 2024: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Much ink has been spilled in outlining the inherent differences between members. In 2022, GDP per capita ranged from just over $1000 USD in Ethiopia to a little over $50,000 in the UAE. Others wonder what the purpose of the group will be, given their disparities — the G7 appear more natural bedfellows, as they are more likely to agree on rules and norms, although they differ on specific topics. By contrast, several B11 members have significant bilateral political differences: China-India, Egypt-Ethiopia and Iran-Saudi Arabia. Rather than thinking about their differences, however, it is worth considering what unites this group: a scepticism towards the US-led international order. Countries in the ‘global south’ may not have an agreed set of policies to put forward, but they agree they deserve a greater voice. Meanwhile the combined GDP of the expanded group accounted for 29% of global GDP in 2022, as our chart shows, compared to 44% in the G7. That gap has narrowed, and the group is likely to expand further: it is reported that 23 countries have formally applied to join. Where that goes from here remains to be seen. The BRICS plus six (perhaps they should be renamed the B11) is another reminder, were one needed, that the world has entered a new era of multipolarity.

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