Member states of BRICS

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa formed by the 2010 addition of South Africa to the predecessor BRIC. The original acronym "BRIC", or "the BRICs", was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill to describe fast-growing economies that he predicted would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050. The 15th BRICS summit in 2023 saw the expansion of the organization for the first time since the inclusion of South Africa.

Countries that have applied for membership
Saudi Arabia was invited to join at the 15th BRICS summit, but has not yet formalised its approval to become a BRICS member.

While Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates were not admitted as members during the 15th BRICS summit, they were among 22 countries applying for membership. South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said “There is a second batch of countries that are going to be added [to] BRICS." This means that there are plans for further BRICS expansion and the following countries are possible candidates due to their applications for membership

Previous applicants
In 2022, Argentina formally submitted an application for BRICS membership under Alberto Fernández's government. Argentina was invited to join at the subsequent 2023 summit, but the country declined the offer to join the bloc in the aftermath of Javier Milei's victory in that year's presidential election.

In 2011, Indonesia considered the possibility of joining BRICS. In 2022 the country formally submitted an application, but Indonesian president Joko Widodo decided to not join the group and remove the application because it was considered a rushed decision. Widodo said that in a future he would probably reapply, but Indonesia is out for now.