MWE Correspondent
Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted the growing economic weight of the BRICS grouping, saying its members now account for more than 40 percent of the global economy, compared with roughly 29 percent for the Group of Seven (G7).
The figures have renewed debate over whether the centre of global economic power is gradually shifting away from the traditional industrialised economies of North America, Europe and Japan towards emerging economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data cited in discussions around BRICS, the 11-member grouping was projected to account for 40.7 percent of global GDP in 2025 when measured using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), compared with 28.4 percent for the G7.
The BRICS figure is particularly significant because China and India alone account for a substantial share of the bloc’s economic output. IMF figures cited by BRICS Brazil put China’s share of global GDP at about 19.6 percent on a PPP basis in 2025, while India’s share was estimated at 8.5 percent. Russia, Brazil and the bloc’s other members add further economic weight.
The expansion of BRICS has also dramatically increased its demographic significance.
With Indonesia joining the grouping in January 2025, BRICS expanded its representation to around half of the world’s population. Estimates cited by BRICS-related sources put the bloc’s population share at approximately 49.5 percent.
This gives BRICS an enormous consumer market and labour force spanning some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and major producers of energy, agricultural commodities, minerals and manufactured goods.
The group’s members include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
The expansion has strengthened BRICS’ geographic reach while also increasing its importance in global energy markets. Several members are major oil and gas producers, while China and India are among the world’s largest energy consumers.
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Despite BRICS’ advantage under PPP measurements, the comparison with the G7 becomes more complicated when GDP is measured at market exchange rates.
PPP is designed to compare the purchasing power of currencies and the volume of goods and services produced within economies. It therefore gives greater weight to countries where domestic prices are relatively low.
Nominal GDP, by contrast, converts economic output using prevailing market exchange rates. On that measure, the G7 remains significantly larger and continues to exercise considerable influence over international finance and investment.
The distinction is important because economic size does not automatically translate into political or institutional power.
The United States, for example, remains the world’s dominant financial power and the US dollar continues to play a central role in international trade, central-bank reserves and global financial markets.
G7 Retains Major Financial And Technological Influence
The G7—comprising the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan—also maintains substantial influence over global financial institutions, advanced technology, defence cooperation and international economic policy.
G7 countries collectively account for a relatively small share of the world’s population compared with BRICS, but they possess highly developed financial systems and major multinational companies.
The United States alone remains a particularly important source of global financial and technological influence. The G7 also has deep links with institutions and alliances that shape international economic and security policy.
This means that the debate is not simply about which bloc produces more goods and services.
It is increasingly about who can convert economic strength into global influence.
For Russia and some other BRICS members, the group’s expansion is part of a broader push towards a more multipolar international system.
BRICS has promoted greater use of national currencies in trade, increased financial cooperation and institutions such as the New Development Bank. The bloc has also discussed ways to reduce dependence on Western-dominated financial systems.
However, BRICS has stopped short of becoming a unified political or military alliance.
Its members have widely different political systems, economic structures and foreign-policy priorities. China and India, for example, remain strategic competitors despite cooperating within BRICS.
Brazil has also traditionally been cautious about transforming the group into an explicitly anti-Western organisation, while other members have different relationships with the United States and Europe.
Recent analysis similarly points to internal disagreements over China’s growing influence, geopolitical conflicts and the future direction of the bloc as major obstacles to deeper integration.
The Real Question: Can BRICS Turn Size Into Power?
The growing economic and demographic weight of BRICS nevertheless represents a significant change in the global balance.
The IMF’s 2025 projections show BRICS accounting for about 40.7 percent of global GDP under PPP, compared with 28.4 percent for the G7. The same data projected average economic growth of 3.4 percent for BRICS economies in 2025, compared with 1.2 percent for the G7.
But the future balance of power will depend on whether BRICS can translate its enormous population, economic production, energy resources and trade potential into stronger common institutions.
For now, the two blocs represent different forms of global power: BRICS has growing demographic and PPP-based economic weight, while the G7 retains substantial advantages in finance, technology, institutional influence and security.
The emerging contest, therefore, may not be about one bloc completely replacing the other, but about whether the world is moving towards a more fragmented and multipolar global order in which BRICS and the G7 compete for influence across different areas of international power.
