ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the position of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries as a group in the current global economic order. It analyses the performance of the BRICS countries in varied economic dimensions starting from the early 2000s right up to the recent past. The chapter illustrates the importance of BRICS as a major manufacturer and supplier of goods and services as well as a large market for global demand since BRICS, as a group, accounts for more than 40% of the global population. Further, the analysis tracks the high economic growth performance of the BRICS countries over the last few couple of decades, relative to the developed nations, amid the financial crisis, subsequent economic slowdown and, more recently, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter also discusses the potential significance of demographic profile and role of the economically active population in BRICS’ economic growth performance. Further, the chapter talks about the performance of the external sector of the BRICS countries, using different trade indicators, and identifies the presence of high trade intensity in a range of industrial sub-groups within the group.
