BRICS Countries: How Much of the World’s Land, Population, and GDP Do They Represent?

Source: ABP News | Original Published At: 2026-09-11 13:55:12 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS began with five founding members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—and has expanded to 11 full members.
• The current BRICS membership listed is Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia.
• The article says about 10 countries have also been given partner-country status.
• BRICS members together account for roughly 30% of the world's land area, with Russia being the largest member by area.
• The article states that one-third of global natural resources, including minerals, oil, gas, and fertile agricultural land, are under the control of BRICS countries.
• BRICS countries are said to include about 49.5% of the world's population, largely because India and China are the two most populous countries.
• On a purchasing power parity basis, BRICS GDP is described as about 40% of global GDP, while nominal GDP share is placed at about 26–30%.