A handful of countries have expressed interest to join the BRICS alliance and accept the new currency for cross-border transactions. The BRICS expansion to BRICS+ will be jointly decided by the bloc in the next summit in South Africa in August. If the alliance expands to BRICS+, its GDP could surpass the United States GDP by more than $7 trillion.
The U.S. GDP stands at $25.5 trillion according to the latest estimates published in 2022. The GDP is forecasted to touch a new high of $26.854 trillion in 2023. The United States s the world’s biggest economy with China coming at a distant second at $19.37 trillion. The alliance of BRICS nations also contributes 31.5% of the overall global GDP.
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BRICS+ GDP To Reach $32.66 Trillion, Much Ahead of the U.S.
BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The GDP of the BRICS nations currently stands at $27.64 trillion. The alliance is ahead by $2.14 trillion compared to the GDP of the U.S.
Brazil: $2.08 trillion
Russia: $2.06 trillion
India: $3.74 trillion
China: $19.37 trillion
South Africa: $399 billion
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If BRICS expands to BRICS+ allowing countries that formally sent their applications to join the bloc, the overall GDP could reach $32.66 trillion. Below are the countries that have formally applied to join BRICS and their GDPs.
Algeria: $206 billion
Argentina: $641 billion
Bahrain: $44 billion
Bangladesh: $420 billion
Egypt: $387 billion
Indonesia: $1.39 trillion
Iran: $367 billion
Saudi Arabia: $1.06 trillion
UAE: $499 billion
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Therefore, the total combined GDP of BRICS+ will reach $32.66 trillion and $7.16 trillion ahead of the U.S. Just recently, the BRICS alliance also beat the G7 countries in purchasing power parity (PPP).
The development indicates that developing countries are becoming economically more powerful and could realign the geopolitical landscape. G7 is the collective of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, The United States, and the European Union.
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