BRIC Countries Map

BRIC is an acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil Russia, India and China which are accounted to be countries at a similar stage of newly advanced economies. These countries are also referred to as the "Big Four". The acronym was coined in 2001 by Jim O'Neill in a paper entitled" Building Better Economic Bric's". Over time the acronym has come into widespread usage as an emblem of the shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies towards the developing world. It has been estimated that the BRIC economies will overtake the G 7 economies by the year 2027.

According to a paper published in 2005, Mexico and South Korea were the only other countries comparable to the BRIC's, but their economies were excluded because they were considered already more developed as they were already members of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

Several more developed of the N-11 countries; Turkey, Mexico, Nigeria and Indonesia in particular are seen as the most likely contenders to join BRIC. Some other countries that are yet to reach the N-11 economic status, such as South Africa aspire to be part of the BRIC nations. Jim O'Neill told the summit that South Africa, at a population less than 50 million, was too small an economy to join the BRIC ranks.


Last Updated on : 22 November 2011