In 2010, South Africa joined the BRICS bloc: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS is an association of regional powers across four continents, originating from an informal alliance in trade negotiations. So far, members have signed agreements among others on customs, energy efficiency, and tax. They have also set up a joint development bank, designed principally to finance infrastructure.
This paper provides background on the BRICS economies to deepen understanding of the bloc’s potential and limitations. To that end, it first reviews the main trends in the member economies. It then analyses their production structure. A more detailed section on trade relations within the bloc follows, with a focus on trade between South Africa and the other members. A final section lists major recent intra-BRICS investment projects.
The analysis does not include the new BRICS members (Saudia Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran and Ethiopia) that joined the group on Monday 1 January 2024.