Visualizing the BRICS Expansion in Four Charts

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BRICS Expansion 2023

Marcus Lu

Visualizing the BRICS Expansion in 4 Charts

BRICS is an association of five major countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Distinguished by their emerging economies, the group has sought to improve diplomatic coordination, reform global financial institutions, and ultimately serve as a counterbalance to Western hegemony.

On Aug. 24, 2023, BRICS announced that it would formally accept six new members at the start of 2024: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In this graphic, we provide a data-driven overview of how the BRICS expansion will grow the group’s influence and reach.

Share of Global GDP

Because most of the new BRICS members are considered to be developing economies, their addition to the group will not have a major impact on its overall share of GDP.

The following table includes GDP projections for 2023, courtesy of the IMF.

Original BRICS
Member		 Country GDP (USD billions) Share of Global (%)
Yes 🇧🇷 Brazil $2,081 2.0%
Yes 🇷🇺 Russia $2,063 2.0%
Yes 🇮🇳 India $3,737 3.6%
Yes 🇨🇳 China $19,374 18.4%
Yes 🇿🇦 South Africa $399 0.4%
No 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia $1,062 1.0%
No 🇮🇷 Iran $368 0.4%
No 🇪🇹 Ethiopia $156 0.1%
No 🇪🇬 Egypt $387 0.4%
No 🇦🇷 Argentina $641 0.6%
No 🇦🇪 UAE $499 0.5%
– BRICS Total $30,767 29.3%
– Rest of World $74,362 70.7%

 

The original six BRICS members are expected to have a combined GDP of $27.6 trillion in 2023, representing 26.3% of the global total. With the new members included, expected GDP climbs slightly to $30.8 trillion, enough for a 29.3% global share.

Share of Global Population

BRICS has always represented a major chunk of global population thanks to China and India, which are the only countries with over 1 billion people.

The two biggest populations being added to BRICS are Ethiopia (126.5 million) and Egypt (112.7 million). See the following table for population data from World Population Review, which is dated as of 2023.

Original BRICS
Member		 Country Population Share of Global (%)
Yes 🇧🇷 Brazil 216,422,446 2.7%
Yes 🇷🇺 Russia 144,444,359 1.8%
Yes 🇮🇳 India 1,428,627,663 17.8%
Yes 🇨🇳 China 1,425,671,352 17.7%
Yes 🇿🇦 South Africa 60,414,495 0.8%
No 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 36,947,025 0.5%
No 🇮🇷 Iran 89,172,767 1.1%
No 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 126,527,060 1.6%
No 🇪🇬 Egypt 112,716,598 1.4%
No 🇦🇷 Argentina 45,773,884 0.6%
No 🇦🇪 UAE 9,516,871 0.1%
– BRICS Total 3.7 billion 46.0%
– Rest of World 4.3 billion 54.0%
It’s possible that BRICS could eventually surpass 50% of global population, as many more countries have expressed their desire to join.

Share of Oil Production

Although the world is trying to move away from fossil fuels, the global oil market is still incredibly large—and BRICS is set to play a much bigger role in it. This is mostly due to the admission of Saudi Arabia, which alone accounts for 12.9% of global oil production.

Based on 2022 figures from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, BRICS’ share of oil production will grow from 20.4% to 43.1%.

Original BRICS
Member		 Country Thousand Barrels
per Day		 Share of Global (%)
Yes 🇧🇷 Brazil 3,107 3.3%
Yes 🇷🇺 Russia 11,202 11.9%
Yes 🇮🇳 India 737 0.8%
Yes 🇨🇳 China 4,111 4.4%
Yes 🇿🇦 South Africa 0 0.0%
No 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 12,136 12.9%
No 🇮🇷 Iran 3,822 4.1%
No 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 0 0.0%
No 🇪🇬 Egypt 613 0.7%
No 🇦🇷 Argentina 706 0.8%
No 🇦🇪 UAE 4,020 4.3%
– BRICS Total 40,454 43.1%
– Rest of World 53,394 56.9%

 

It’s worth noting that China has been pushing for oil trade to be denominated in yuan, and that Saudi Arabia’s acceptance into BRICS could bolster this ambition, potentially shifting the dynamics of global oil trade.

Share of Global Exports

The last metric included in our graphic is global exports, which is based on 2022 data from the World Trade Organization. We can see that the BRICS expansion will grow the group’s share of global exports (merchandise trade) to 25.1%, up from 20.2%.

Original BRICS
Member		 Country Exports (USD billions) Share of Global (%)
Yes 🇧🇷 Brazil 334 1.3%
Yes 🇷🇺 Russia 532 2.1%
Yes 🇮🇳 India 453 1.8%
Yes 🇨🇳 China 3,594 14.4%
Yes 🇿🇦 South Africa 123 0.5%
No 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 410 1.6%
No 🇮🇷 Iran 73 0.3%
No 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 3.9 0.02%
No 🇪🇬 Egypt 49 0.2%
No 🇦🇷 Argentina 88 0.4%
No 🇦🇪 UAE 599 2.4%
– BRICS Total 6,259 25.1%
– Rest of World 18,646 74.9%

 

Unsurprisingly, China is the world’s largest exporter. Major exporters that are not a part of BRICS include the U.S. (8.3%), Germany (6.6%), the Netherlands (3.9%), and Japan (3.0%).

Who Else Wants to Join?

According to Reuters, there are over 40 countries that have expressed interest in joining BRICS. A smaller group of 16 countries have actually applied for membership, though, and this list includes Algeria, Cuba, Indonesia, Palestine, and Vietnam.

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Via https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-brics-expansion-in-4-charts/

10 thoughts on “Visualizing the BRICS Expansion in Four Charts”

  1. Thanks for this intriguing synopsis on the evolving status of BRICS. I’m glad to see a situation in which cooperation, rather than competition, is showing what it can do. I hope we can all learn from this example of productive partnership.

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    Reply ↓

      • The G-7 will soon be known as the 7 dwarfs until America and it’s NATO sycophants bring their military bases personnel home and start looking after their own countries. They can start by bringing industry back. Unfortunately, I think things are too far gone. The Anglo American Zionist establishment has brought this destruction on itself. This was long coming, but, the imbecilic attack against Russia by the neocons and Nuland and company brought everything to a head. The West soon, will need to live within it’s means. What a concept!

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        Reply ↓

  3. I think they are already, Shelby. China has escalated selling off their US Treasury bonds (and Japan, for some reason, has joined in even though they’re US allies). This is why interest rates (and inflation) are so high and stock prices are collapsing. China still owns around $850 billion in US debt that can never be repaid.

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    Reply ↓

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