BRICS Accounts For 37% Of Global GDP

(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) Rio de Janeiro – The nine countries that are already formally part of BRICS , in addition to Saudi Arabia, account for more than 40% of the global population, with a growth trend above the global average over the next decade. Furthermore, they represent 37% of the global economy, according to the gross domestic product by purchasing power parity, the World Economic Forum reported.

Created in 2009, BRICS originally included Brazil, China, India, and Russia. South Africa became the fifth country to join in 2011, and last year, five more countries joined it-Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia. Still in the process of confirmation, Saudi Arabia has been participating in the group's meetings, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

These countries account for 26% of global trade, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy says the group holds 44% of the planet's oil reserves and 53% of its natural gas reserves. Now, they produce 43% of the world's oil and 35% of its gas. Seventy-two percent of the world's rare earth reserves are in these ten territories, as well as 70% of global coal production. Russia and Brazil hold the largest freshwater reserves.

In military terms, the group has at least three nuclear powers-Russia, China, and India.“BRICS indeed has significant economic and military weight, which increasingly demands a political influence that matches the resources they hold,” says Marta Fernández, director of the BRICS Policy Center and professor at the Institute of International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio).

The term BRIC, an acronym for the original members, was coined by economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to refer to the countries emerging as promising. In 2006, the original members would meet for the first time on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The 2008 financial crisis provided a reason for the group to decide to meet annually in search of a change in the global governance system.

“From its origins, it was very clear that it was an informal organization, but one with a reformist agenda for the international order. BRICS emerged in the context of a crisis in Western countries, with the 2008 financial crisis. Since the first summit, the declarations have included the demand for reform of the UN, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank,” explains Professor Evandro Carvalho from the BRICS Studies Center at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF).

In this context of economic crisis, arising from an economic and political model led by Western countries-United States and European Union-BRICS began to demand more influence over the world's future.“These countries understood that they had a diminished role in international governance, whether in their presence in international organizations or in shaping the course of the global economy,” highlights Pedro Dallari, director of the Institute of International Relations at the University of São Paulo (USP).

In the wake of criticisms of the management of major international banks, BRICS created, in 2014, its own financial institution, the New Development Bank (NDB), which supports infrastructure and sustainable development projects in developing countries.“By creating an international organization, BRICS demonstrated its ability to deliver on a very important front,” says Carvalho.

According to Dallari, apart from the discussion on global governance reform, there is little convergence among the countries in the group, as they have very different commercial interests and ideological values.“BRICS has become almost like a spokesperson or the largest voice for the Global South, within this role of reorganizing the global order,” adds Carvalho.

Read more:
Climate change on Brazil's agenda at BRICS

Translated by Guilherme Miranda

The post BRICS accounts for 37% of global GDP appeared first on ANBA News Agency .

MENAFN02012025000213011057ID1109050041