A grouping of major emerging economies that coordinate on economic, political, and development issues, originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
- The acronym BRIC was coined by economist Jim O'Neill in 2001; the countries began meeting as a group, and South Africa joined in 2010 to make it BRICS.
- From 2024 the group expanded to include several new members; the membership and its label have been evolving, so verify the latest composition.
- The New Development Bank (headquartered in Shanghai) was set up by BRICS to fund infrastructure and sustainable development, as an alternative to Western-led institutions.
- BRICS also created a Contingent Reserve Arrangement to provide liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments pressure.
- The group represents a large share of the world's population, land area, and output, and pushes for reform of global governance and a greater voice for the developing world.
BRICS, its members, the New Development Bank, and its expansion are recurring international-economy and current-affairs facts, useful for both Paper I and essays.
BRICS is an emerging-economies and development grouping; the New Development Bank is its bank, distinct from the IMF and World Bank. Do not confuse BRICS with the G20 (broader) or the Quad (security).
Emerging-economies bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, plus newer members), with its own New Development Bank.