Member states of BRICS
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The original member states of BRICS, an international organization of world economies, consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa formally joined in 2010 and attended the 3rd BRICS summit. The organization expanded again in 2024, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates attending the 16th BRICS summit as official members. In January 2025, Indonesia joined the organization. Many other nations are partner states or have applied to join.
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Member states
| Country | Capital | Area (km2) | Population (2025) | Density (/km2) | GDP per cap. (PPP)[1] | HDI[2] | Currency | Official languages | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil | Brasília | 8,515,767 | 213,583,750 | 23.8 | 23,239 | 0.786 | Brazilian real (R$) (BRL) | Portuguese also see Languages of Brazil | 16 June 2009 (Informally, September 2006) |
| Russia Russian Federation | Moscow | 17,075,400 | 146,028,325 | 8.4 | 49,383 | 0.832 | Russian rouble (₽) (RUB) | Russian also see Languages of Russia | |
| India Republic of India | New Delhi | 3,287,240 | 1,417,492,000 | 430.7 | 12,132 | 0.685 | Indian rupee (₹) (INR) | Hindi (Devanagari script) English Also see Languages of India | |
| China People's Republic of China | Beijing | 9,640,011[a] | 1,408,280,000 | 147 | 28,978 | 0.797 | Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥) (CNY) | Standard Chinese[3] written in simplified characters[3] see also languages of China | |
| South Africa Republic of South Africa | Pretoria (executive) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judicial) | 1,221,037 | 63,100,945 | 50.8 | 15,989 | 0.741 | South African rand (R) (ZAR) | 12 languages | 24 December 2010[4][5][6][7] |
| Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt | Cairo | 1,010,408 | 107,271,260 | 108.32 | 21,668 | 0.754 | Egyptian pound (LE) (EGP) | Arabic | 1 January 2024 |
| Ethiopia Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 1,104,300 | 109,499,000 | 92.7 | 4,398 | 0.497 | Ethiopian birr (Br) (ETB) | Afar Amharic Oromo Somali Tigrinya | |
| Iran Islamic Republic of Iran | Tehran | 1,648,195 | 92,417,681 | 52 | 19,957 | 0.799 | Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR) | Persian | |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | 83,600 | 11,027,129 | 132 | 81,676 | 0.940 | UAE dirham ( ) (AED) | Arabic | |
| Indonesia Republic of Indonesia | Jakarta | 1,904,569 | 284,438,782 | 143 | 17,612 | 0.728 | Indonesian rupiah (Rp) (IDR) | Indonesian | 6 January 2025 |
Partner states
Partner states are a new category for integration of prospective members, introduced in 2024 at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, the Russian Federation. These countries are observer states that are not yet officially part of the BRICS bloc. These observer states prove themselves as partners before further integrating as a member, similar to the accession process of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.[8] 13 states were invited to be formal partners; the following 10 states then ensured their partnership status by January 2025, while Indonesia acceded to the core membership.
Two more countries had been invited to join the BRICS bloc as observer partner states, like the ones listed above, but have not yet confirmed that status as of mid-January 2025.[8]
| Country | Capital | Area (km2) | Population (2016) | Density (/km2) | GDP per cap. (PPP) | HDI | Currency | Official languages | Leaders | Application submitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria People's Democratic Republic of Algeria | Algiers | 2,381,741 | 46,700,000 | 19 | 16,483 | 0.763 | Algerian dinar (DZD) | Arabic | Head of State: Abdelmadjid Tebboune Head of Government: Nadir Larbaoui | |
| Turkey Republic of Türkiye | Ankara | 783,562 | 85,372,377 | 111 | 40,283 | 0.853 | Turkish lira (TRY) | Turkish | Head of State and Government: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
Nations that have applied for membership
While Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates were not admitted as members during the 15th BRICS summit, they were among 22 countries applying for membership. South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said, “There is a second batch of countries that are going to be added [to] BRICS." This means that there are plans for further BRICS expansion, and the following countries are possible candidates due to their membership applications.[10]
Previous applicants
In 2022, Argentina formally applied for BRICS membership under Alberto Fernández's government. Argentina was invited to join the subsequent 2023 summit, but the country declined the offer to join the bloc in the aftermath of Javier Milei's victory in that year's presidential election.[11]
Saudi Arabia was also invited to join at the 2023 summit, with full membership was scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2024.[12][13][14] However, Saudi Arabia did not join BRICS at the start of 2024 as had been planned, and it announced in mid-January that it was still considering the matter.[15] As of May 2025, the matter is still under consideration.[16][17]
Algeria had previously applied for membership in 2023,[18] but later rejected it in September 2024, making Algeria the second country after Argentina to decline and stop its application.[19]
During the 2024 BRICS summit, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not granted partner country status due to Brazil blocking their applications. Brazil’s veto of Nicaragua comes after the countries cut diplomatic ties by expelling each others ambassadors after the Brazilian ambassador failed to attend a celebration of the Sandinista revolution, while Brazil's veto of Venezuela was largely due to the disputed 2024 Venezuelan elections and the ongoing Venezuelan crisis.[20] Venezuela recalled its ambassador from Brazil in response.[21]
Pakistan applied for membership in 2023, but it has been opposed by India due to strained diplomatic relations.[22] Certain experts have additionally stated that a key factor for refusal of membership is due to Pakistan's economic instability.[23]
Overview
| Country | Population | GDP (Nom.) | GDP (PPP) | P5 | G20 | SCO | RCEP | APEC | G4 | OPEC | NPC | AU | AL | Economic classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
7th | 10th | 7th |  |
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OPEC+ | |
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Newly industrialized |
 Russia |
9th | 11th | 4th | |
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OPEC+ | |
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Emerging |
 India |
1st | 5th | 3rd | |
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Newly industrialized |
 China |
2nd | 2nd | 1st | |
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Newly industrialized |
 South Africa |
23rd | 40th | 33rd | |
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Newly industrialized |
 Egypt |
15th | 45th | 17th | |
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Emerging and Developing |
 Ethiopia |
13th | 56th | 55th | |
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Under developed |
 Iran |
17th | 36th | 23rd | |
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Emerging and Developing |
 UAE |
88th | 26th | 38th | |
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Emerging and Developing |
 Indonesia |
4th | 16th | 8th | |
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Newly industrialized |
Notes
- The actual area under PRC control is 9,596,960.[citation needed]
- The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam is the supreme leader in a one-party communist state. The general secretary is also the secretary of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, being the de facto Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army of Vietnam.