How Big BRICS Has Become, and What Its Growth Means

On Oct 2, 2026

The lasting image from the New Delhi summit was the group photo, and it was crowded. That is the real headline about BRICS right now: the bloc has roughly doubled in size. Here is how big it actually is, in members and in weight, and what that scale does and does not translate into.

It is easy to argue about what BRICS means and miss how much it has simply grown. A group that was five countries a couple of years ago now fills a much longer table, and that expansion is the single most important thing about it. Size is not the same as unity, and a bigger bloc is not automatically a more powerful one. But the numbers behind the enlargement are genuinely large, and they explain why every BRICS summit now gets treated as a global event rather than a regional one.

At a Glance

BRICS has expanded from its original five members to eleven, adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, while drawing in Saudi Arabia. Together the full members account for close to half the world’s population, roughly 48 percent, and somewhere around 40 percent of global output measured at purchasing power parity, with a combined economy above 30 trillion dollars. It also has a further ring of partner countries beyond the core members. That scale gives the group real demographic and economic weight. What it does not automatically give it is a single voice, because the members range from close allies to outright rivals.

Table of Contents

Who is actually in BRICS now

The name is a fossil at this point. BRICS started as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and those five still anchor it. The recent wave of enlargement brought in Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, followed by Indonesia, which joined as a full member in early 2025, along with Saudi Arabia in the group’s orbit. Indonesia matters on its own: it is the world’s fourth-most-populous country and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, so its entry alone shifted the bloc’s center of gravity. Beyond the full members, BRICS has built a second tier of partner countries, which is how the group keeps growing its reach without formally admitting everyone.

The weight behind the numbers

The scale is where the expansion stops being symbolic. The eleven full members together represent close to 48 percent of the global population and, by most tallies of the bloc’s economic footprint, something in the range of 40 percent of world GDP at purchasing power parity, with a combined economy well over 30 trillion dollars. In nominal dollar terms the share is smaller, closer to 28 to 30 percent, because PPP flatters economies with lower price levels. Either way, this is no longer a marginal grouping. It contains two of the world’s largest economies, several major energy producers, and a big slice of the world’s people and future growth.

Why bigger is not automatically stronger

Here is the catch that the group photo hides. A bloc that spans this many countries also spans this many disagreements. The membership now includes states that are strategic partners and states that are open rivals, energy exporters whose interests clash with energy importers, and governments with very different views on how far to push against the existing world order. That diversity is a source of legitimacy, since BRICS can claim to speak for a genuinely large share of the planet, but it is also a brake. Getting eleven governments with divergent interests to agree on anything binding is hard, which is why the group’s declarations tend toward the broad and the aspirational. We covered what the New Delhi summit actually agreed on separately, and the pattern held: lots of ambition, incremental follow-through.

What the expansion is really about

Strip it down and the enlargement is a bet on weight. By adding members, BRICS increases the share of the world it represents, which strengthens its case for a bigger say in institutions like the IMF and World Bank and its push for trade in members’ own currencies rather than the dollar. It is less a unified alliance than a coalition arguing that a group representing half the planet’s people deserves more influence over the rules. Whether that argument turns into concrete change is still open, and much of the practical work is happening in unglamorous areas like payment systems. Our look at the group’s dollar-free payment plans covers where that effort actually stands.

Main Takeaways

BRICS has grown from five members to eleven, adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia, while drawing in Saudi Arabia.
The full members represent close to 48 percent of the world’s population and around 40 percent of global GDP at purchasing power parity.
Indonesia’s 2025 entry was significant on its own as the fourth-most-populous country and Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Greater size brings demographic and economic weight but not a single voice, since members range from allies to rivals.
The expansion is mainly a bid for more influence over global institutions and less dependence on the dollar.

For more global and economic coverage, follow the DelightfulBlogs News desk, or browse our Business section.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many members does BRICS have now?

Eleven full members: the original Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, plus Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, with Saudi Arabia also drawn into the group. BRICS also maintains a wider set of partner countries beyond the full membership.

What share of the world does BRICS represent?

Close to 48 percent of the global population and roughly 40 percent of world GDP measured at purchasing power parity, with a combined economy above 30 trillion dollars. In nominal dollar terms the GDP share is smaller, around 28 to 30 percent.

When did Indonesia join BRICS?

Indonesia became a full member in early 2025. It was a notable addition because it is the world’s fourth-most-populous country and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, adding significant demographic and economic weight to the bloc.

Does a bigger BRICS mean a more powerful one?

Not automatically. A larger membership adds population and economic weight and strengthens the group’s claim to represent much of the world, but it also brings more conflicting interests. Members range from close partners to rivals, which makes binding agreement harder and keeps many declarations broad.

What is BRICS trying to achieve by expanding?

Mainly more influence. A larger bloc bolsters BRICS’s argument for a bigger role in institutions like the IMF and World Bank and for trading more in members’ own currencies rather than relying on the US dollar. Much of the practical work centers on cross-border payment systems.

What This Means

The crowded summit photo is the point, not a footnote. BRICS has turned itself into a group that can credibly say it represents nearly half the world’s people, and that claim alone reshapes how its meetings are covered and how its demands are received. The honest qualification is that scale and cohesion are different things, and a bloc this broad will keep struggling to convert its combined weight into unified action. What has clearly changed is that BRICS is no longer easy to dismiss as a five-country talking shop. It is big now, and being big is its whole strategy.