International Desk

Half the world's people. Around 40 percent of global GDP when measured by purchasing power parity. Some of the world's biggest and fastest-growing economies.

Twenty years after Brazil, Russia, India and China first came together, BRICS looks very different.

The expanded grouping gathering in New Delhi this weekend is, by one widely used measure, already considerably bigger than the G7 — the club of wealthy economies comprising the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

Measured by purchasing power parity, or PPP, BRICS is projected to account for around 41 percent of global GDP in 2026, compared with about 28 percent for the G7, according to an NDTV analysis of International Monetary Fund data.

Bigger Than the G7? It Depends

It isn't quite that simple.

The headline comparison is based on PPP, which adjusts for differences in prices between countries. Other measures of economic strength produce a very different picture.

So which grouping is actually bigger?

The answer depends on what "bigger" means.

Delegates from South Africa take pictures outside Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the upcoming 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, September 11, 2026. REUTERS

How the Balance Shifted Towards BRICS

The numbers have changed dramatically over the past quarter-century.

In 2000, Brazil, Russia, India and China — the four countries that would establish BRIC six years later — accounted for roughly 23 percent of global GDP measured at PPP, while the G7 accounted for nearly 52 percent, according to The Indian Express.

By 2024, the expanded BRICS grouping accounted for about 36.8 percent, while the G7's share had fallen below 29 percent.

NDTV, using the IMF's April 2026 World Economic Outlook, puts BRICS at around 41 percent of global GDP in PPP terms this year against about 28 percent for the G7.

But the historical comparison comes with an important caveat.

BRICS began with four countries. South Africa joined later, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia as the grouping expanded.

Saudi Arabia also participates in BRICS meetings, although Reuters reports that Riyadh has not formally accepted full membership and its status remains ambiguous.

The increase in BRICS's share of the world economy therefore reflects both rapid growth in emerging economies, particularly China and India, and the grouping's expansion.

Either way, the broader shift is unmistakable.

The economic centre of gravity has moved.

So What Does the 41% Actually Mean?

The 41 percent figure measures GDP using purchasing power parity.

PPP adjusts for differences in price levels between countries, recognising that the same amount of money can buy different quantities of goods and services in different economies.

It is not the same as nominal GDP, which values economies using market exchange rates.

And on nominal GDP, the G7 remains the larger grouping.

BRICS is bigger on PPP-adjusted GDP.

The G7 remains bigger on nominal GDP.

The measures are different ways of looking at economic size rather than contradictory answers to the same question.

 

Nearly Half the World Lives in BRICS

On population, the difference is enormous.

The 11 countries counted in current Indian summit statistics represent about 49.5 percent of the world's population.

China and India alone have populations of more than a billion each. Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country, while Brazil, Russia, Ethiopia and Egypt add hundreds of millions more.

But divide economic output by population and the picture changes sharply.

Average GDP per capita across the G7 is around $53,000, compared with roughly $8,200 across BRICS, according to figures reported by The Indian Express.

Put simply, BRICS has far more people and enormous combined output.

Economic output per person remains much higher across the G7.

BRICS Has the Growth Advantage

Its economies are projected to grow by an average of about 3.7 percent in 2026, more than three times the average rate projected for the G7, according to The Indian Express.

That helps explain why comparisons between the two groupings have become increasingly common.

The question is no longer simply where the balance stands today, but where it is heading.

Many G7 members are mature economies growing relatively slowly. BRICS includes several large emerging economies expanding much more rapidly.

That does not mean BRICS will inevitably overtake the G7 on every measure.

But its growing share of global economic activity is increasingly difficult to ignore.

China and India Dominate the Numbers

BRICS may span much of the developing world, but its economic weight is far from evenly distributed.

According to NDTV's analysis, China accounts for 48.5 percent of BRICS GDP on a PPP basis and India another 20.7 percent.

Russia accounts for 8.2 percent, Indonesia 6 percent and Brazil 5.7 percent.

China and India therefore account for nearly 70 percent between them.

Expansion has broadened BRICS's geographical reach and strengthened its presence across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

But much of its economic heft still rests on two countries — and particularly China.

FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia Oct 23, 2024. China Daily via REUTERS

Size Isn't Just About GDP

BRICS's growing weight is visible elsewhere too.

The grouping represents roughly a quarter of global trade and holds an estimated $5.2 trillion in combined foreign-exchange reserves, according to The Indian Express.

Its members include major manufacturing, energy, agricultural and commodity economies.

That combination of population, production, resources and rapidly growing consumer markets helps explain why BRICS has attracted countries seeking a greater voice in an international system long dominated by Western powers.

But possessing those assets collectively is one thing.

Using them collectively is another.

But is BRICS Really an Economic Bloc?

This is where comparisons with the G7 can become misleading.

BRICS is not a single market. It has no customs union, common external tariff or common currency.

Its members also have sharply different strategic interests.

India and China remain geopolitical competitors despite a recent thaw in relations. India maintains close ties with the United States while preserving its longstanding partnership with Russia.

The war in West Asia has meanwhile opened a particularly stark divide between Iran and the UAE.

The UAE suspended trade and financial transactions with Iran in August after being hit by Iranian missiles. Reuters reports that their differences are complicating efforts to find language on the conflict that both can accept in a joint declaration in Delhi.

BRICS foreign ministers had already failed to issue a joint statement at a meeting in May because of differences between Iran and the UAE.

What About the Dollar?

BRICS countries have explored ways to make trade and payments between members easier and reduce reliance on dollar-based transactions.

India is now pushing a proposal to link members' central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments, Reuters reported ahead of the summit.

But significant political and technical obstacles remain, and previous discussions about shared BRICS payment mechanisms have made little progress.

A member of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stands in front of a hoarding displayed near Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, Sept 9, 2026. REUTERS

A source familiar with India's position told Reuters that New Delhi has no interest in replacing the dollar through the CBDC proposal and instead wants to make cross-border payments easier and faster.

Russia has also played down talk of abandoning the US currency.

"We do not seek de-dollarisation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week.

So Has BRICS Overtaken the G7?

By some measures, yes.

BRICS represents far more of the world's population, has overtaken the G7 in PPP-adjusted economic output and is growing considerably faster.

But the G7 remains larger when GDP is measured at market exchange rates, while GDP per person is far higher across its members.

And economic size alone does not determine influence.

G7 economies sit at the heart of much of the international financial system, while BRICS brings together countries whose strategic interests can sometimes collide.

Expansion has made BRICS bigger.

It has also made finding consensus harder.

Its challenge may therefore no longer be proving that it is large enough to matter.

As its leaders gather in Delhi, the harder question is whether they can turn that enormous economic weight into collective power.