# What is BRICS?

Explainer · Updated 2026-09-07 · First in the reading path  
Canonical: https://whatisbrics.org/articles/what-is-brics/

BRICS is the name of a diplomatic grouping whose original members were Brazil, Russia, India, China, and (from 2010) South Africa. It holds annual leaders’ summits, issues joint statements, and has built a small set of institutions — most importantly the [New Development Bank](https://whatisbrics.org/articles/new-development-bank/). It is not a military alliance, not a customs union, and not a currency union.

**Two objects, one acronym.** In 2001 the Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill used “BRIC” as an investment thesis about Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The political forum is a later project: foreign ministers met in 2006; the first leaders’ summit was in Yekaterinburg in June 2009. Do not cite the 2001 paper as if it founded a government club.

## What the grouping does

Members use the forum to coordinate talking points on the international financial architecture, development finance, and — increasingly — [local-currency settlement](https://whatisbrics.org/articles/de-dollarization/). The public product of each summit is a declaration. Those texts are political documents: they record consensus language, not automatically binding law.

Policy fights belong on the sister desk’s [summit-outcomes note](https://bricspolicy.org/articles/summits-outcomes/). Country files belong on [BRICS Nations’ membership note](https://bricsnations.org/membership/).

## What BRICS is not

- Not NATO, not a mutual-defense pact.
- Not the United Nations.
- Not a single market.
- Not a completed alternative dollar system. A common BRICS currency has been discussed; it has not been issued.

## Why the definition matters for other desks

Washington’s toolkit: [usforeignpolicy.org](https://usforeignpolicy.org). Treaty language: [foreigndiplomacy.org](https://foreigndiplomacy.org). Russia’s war against Ukraine: [armedconflicts.org Russia–Ukraine briefing](https://armedconflicts.org/russia-ukraine-war.html). Markets: [usmarketupdates.com](https://usmarketupdates.com), [globalmarketupdates.com](https://globalmarketupdates.com).

Next: [membership evolution](https://whatisbrics.org/articles/membership-evolution/).