The 5 BRICS countries
The BRICS countries are an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The abbreviation consists of the first letters of the country names. This refers to a group of the five countries (initially without South Africa), that belong to the emerging economies.A total of 3.27 billion people live in these five countries, 41.44 percent of the world's population. China and India are the most populous countries in the world and thus account for the largest share by far.
| Country | Population | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 214.33 M | 8,516,000 km² |
| China | 1,425.67 M | 9,563,000 km² |
| India | 1,425.78 M | 3,287,000 km² |
| Russia | 143.45 M | 17,098,000 km² |
| South Africa | 59.39 M | 1,219,000 km² |
The name derives from the major US bank Goldman Sachs, which attested to outstanding growth rates of over 5 percent per annum to the original four emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Since 2011, South Africa has also been a member of the Group at China's invitation.