Russian Finance Minister: BRICS Drives Global Economic Growth

The BRICS nations now represent 36.7% of global GDP when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), according to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

Siluanov made this statement on Thursday during a meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors in Moscow. The gathering focused on potential improvements to the international monetary and financial system ahead of the BRICS 2024 summit in Kazan later this month. Russia currently holds the BRICS chairmanship.

“The BRICS [countries] are the engine of global economic growth,” said Siluanov, highlighting that the group’s economies are projected to expand at an average annual rate of 4.4% in 2024-2025. “If we look at the G7 countries, it is 1.7%. It is clear who is developing more dynamically,” he observed.

However, he emphasized that this isn’t a matter of competition but rather a commitment to achieving higher growth rates for the BRICS economies and “ultimately to boost the income of our citizens.”

The BRICS group, initially consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has undergone significant expansion since January with the addition of Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Over 30 countries, including NATO member Türkiye, have expressed interest in joining the economic bloc.

According to IMF data, the G7’s share of global GDP in PPP terms has been steadily declining over the past few years, dropping from 50.42% in 1982 to 30.39% in 2022. The Washington-based institution projects this figure to decrease further to 29.44% this year.

PPP is a widely used economic measure that compares economic productivity and living standards across countries by accounting for differences in the cost of goods and services.