BRICS today represents a union of 11 states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Indonesia. Collectively, these countries account for about half of the world's population and approximately 40 percent of global GDP.
The combined contribution of these members amounts to 49.5% of the planet's population, 40% of global GDP, and 26% of world trade. These figures indicate their significant population and strong economic position. The expansion of participants has also increased the group's geographical presence in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. This diversity unites major markets, natural resources, technological capabilities, and various development experiences.
When analyzing India's economy from the perspective of the currency market, its share in total global production is 3.3%. However, when considering actual production generated on its fields and factories, this figure reaches 8.2%. This contrast between the two indicators is not just a minor accounting difference; it determines how significant India is in the eyes of creditors, what volume of loans it can obtain, and how weighty its voice will be where rules are formed.
This weekend, India is hosting the most important venue for the BRICS summit. The group will begin its eighteenth summit on September 12th with the participation of 11 members and 10 partner countries. On one hand, this alliance can be considered the largest economic bloc in the world, and on the other, unparalleled.
Let's first consider the concept of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). PPP asks a direct question: what does a country actually produce? How many tons, hours, or goods do people buy? According to International Monetary Fund data, in 2025, BRICS' share in total global production by this criterion was 40.5%, while the G7's share was 28.3%. BRICS surpassed the G7 in 2020 and has maintained this advantage since then.
In 1992, the group's share was 15.1%. This growth is due not only to the increase in economies but also to the inclusion of new countries in the group. At that time, there were only four countries in the group, and now there are eleven. Even when considering membership as a single entity, the share of the current eleven countries in global production in 2005 was 26%, which has now grown to 40.5%.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined in January 2024, and Indonesia in January 2025. Last year, ten additional countries became partners, participating in some meetings without signing group declarations. Twenty-one countries will participate in the current summit.
Now let's look at the second method of calculation, which changes the narrative. If each country's income is converted into US dollars at the exchange rate of that year, in 2025, BRICS' share in total global production was 27.9%, while the G7's share was 44.4%. The IMF expects this gap to narrow by 2031, but it will not disappear completely.
The difference between these two figures is related to the currency market. India realized this: in 2012, the Indian economy grew by 5.5%, but there was no growth in dollar terms due to the fall of the rupee.
The situation with Egypt is even more obvious. When it allowed the pound to float at the end of 2016, its output fell from $351 billion to $247 billion in one year, despite economic growth of 4.2%. Similar situations occur approximately every five years among the 11 members since 1993.
Since the term BRIC was created, India's share has doubled. In 2001, India's share in global production by PPP was 4%, and in 2025, it grew to 8.2%. The IMF forecasts that this figure will reach 10% by 2031. In dollar terms, India's share of the world economy is 3.3%, and this is where the story began.
Two points are hidden in the general data. China alone accounts for 59.5% of the total production volume of this group in dollars, so talking about BRICS growth is effectively talking about China's growth. Furthermore, one of the members may not be a member. Saudi Arabia was named a full member in the list of chairpersons starting in January 2024, but Riyadh has never publicly confirmed this. If Saudi Arabia is excluded, the group's share in 2025 in dollar terms will decrease from 27.9% to 26.8%.