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Shifting world economy’s center of gravity towards BRICS+.
In brief
- BRICS+ overtook the G7 in terms of GDP (PPP) in 2011, accounting for a progressively increasing share in world GDP, which was 45% in 2025.
- Despite its growing economic scale, several BRICS+ economies face fiscal constraints due to rising government indebtedness and interest payment burdens.
- Under India's 2026 BRICS Chairship, the grouping made notable progress on initiatives related to global value chains (GVC), local-currency settlements, digital infrastructure, AI and innovation-led cooperation.
Share in population, GDP and trade: BRICS+ vs G7
India's 2026 BRICS chairship coincided with a period in which the global economic center of gravity is gradually shifting towards emerging and developing economies. The expansion of BRICS into BRICS+, comprising 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, has significantly increased the grouping's economic and demographic weight.
In terms of GDP measured in purchasing power parity (PPP), BRICS+ overtook the G7 in 2011 and has steadily widened its lead (Chart 1). In 2025, BRICS+ share in the world GDP was 45% compared with 28% for the G7, a gap of 17% points that is projected to widen to 22% points of GDP by 2031.
BRICS+ contribution to global GDP (PPP) growth was nearly 55% of world growth in 2025 compared to about 20% for the G7 (Table 1). It is projected to contribute more than 56% to world GDP growth by 2030. Within this grouping, India’s contribution to global growth has been steadily rising, and is projected to reach 16% by 2030, exceeding that of the US and second only to China.
The demographic dimension reinforces the importance of BRICS+. The grouping accounted for over 55% of the world's population in 2025 compared with less than 10% for the G7. India alone represented nearly 18% of the global population in 2025 and has emerged as the world's most populous country, providing a large domestic market and the potential for a sustained demographic dividend provided there is continued investment in education, health, skilling and infrastructure.
BRICS+ has also strengthened its position in global merchandise and services trade. It accounted for almost 30% of world merchandise exports in 2025, surpassing the G7 (Table 2). However, the G7 continues to maintain a significant lead in services trade, where BRICS+ accounted for about 15% of global exports in 2024 compared with more than 36% for the G7. India, in BRICS+, remains a notable exception, having more than doubled its share in global services exports from 1.9% in 2005 to 4.2% in 2024.
There is considerable potential for deeper BRICS+ trade integration. Rising intra-BRICS+ trade points to opportunities for developing production networks, improving supply chain resilience, enhancing access to critical minerals and expanding services trade. Reducing transaction costs and strengthening connectivity may generate substantial gains over the medium term. However, in India’s case, there is a need to improve its trade imbalance profile wherever inter-country trade deficits are large, such as with China.
Government indebtedness: How BRICS+ compares with G7
Economic influence depends not only on size but also on fiscal sustainability. Governments in the G7 group are more heavily indebted with a debt-to-GDP ratio of about 123% in 2025, as compared to 80.5% for the BRICS+ group (Table 3).
Higher government debt-GDP ratios can lead to fiscal stress on account of interest payments, especially if government revenue to GDP ratios are relatively low. This fiscal stress becomes even higher if effective interest rates are relatively high. BRICS+ economies, on average, are subject to higher fiscal stress since their interest payments to revenue receipts ratio at 8.3% in 2025, was higher than the G7 group’s corresponding average at 7.5%. In India’s case, interest payments absorbed about one-quarter of government revenue receipts in 2025, exemplifying its fiscal stress with this ratio being among the highest within the BRICS+ group. This stress squeezes the fiscal space available to governments to undertake counter-cyclical measures, invest in infrastructure, support green transitions and respond to future economic shocks.
BRICS+ institutions
The institutional architecture of BRICS+ has expanded alongside its economic footprint. The New Development Bank (NDB) provides financing for infrastructure and development projects, while the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) offers liquidity support to member countries during periods of external stress. Together, these mechanisms strengthen resilience and provide alternative avenues for development finance.
BRICS+ has also broadened its focus towards payment and settlement systems as reflected by the proposed BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative aimed at facilitating trade and financial transactions in local currencies. Complementary arrangements under discussion also include BRICS Pay, the Decentralized Cross-border Messaging System (DCMS), BRICS CLEAR and other interoperable payment and settlement mechanisms.
Evolving cross-border settlement systems
The growing emphasis on local-currency settlements reflects a broader effort to deepen economic integration within BRICS+. Expanding the use of national currencies and improving payment infrastructure may facilitate trade and investment while reducing dependence on traditional intermediaries.
However, implementation dimensions including interoperability, regulatory coordination, liquidity arrangements, transparency, cybersecurity and broad market acceptance will determine their effectiveness. Their significance lies not in replacing the existing international financial architecture, but in expanding settlement options and supporting a more diversified payments ecosystem for participating economies.
Initiatives from BRICS 2026
India's 2026 chairship was structured around four pillars: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. These themes informed the broad agenda aimed at strengthening economic integration, supporting development and preparing member countries for emerging global challenges.
At the 2026 BRICS Summit, members further advanced integration through:
- GVC Action Plan and the Shared Understanding on Global Value Chains, supply chain resilience initiatives including access to critical minerals. However, differing approaches among BRICS+ member countries, including China, may constrain progress in increasing supply chain resilience and access to critical minerals.
- Expanded local-currency trade and payment systems via the BRICS cross-border payments initiative, including continued work on interoperable payment and messaging systems and greater use of national currencies in trade and investment.
- Enhanced cooperation on AI governance, AI applications in finance, productivity and sustainable development, and innovation through the BRICS Incubator Network.
Whether in payments, digital infrastructure, AI or sustainable development, the Summit outlined a long-term agenda for economic cooperation among emerging economies. Going forward, BRICS+ cooperation may progressively move from trade-centered integration towards economy-wide integration with an emphasis on innovation.
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Learn more about the growing economic significance of BRICS+
Summary
While BRICS+ now exceeds the G7 in PPP-based GDP and contributes about 55% to global growth, challenges remain, particularly in fiscal sustainability and institutional coordination. India's 2026 BRICS chairship advanced initiatives on trade integration, local-currency settlements, supply chain resilience, and digital cooperation and innovation, marking an important step in the evolution of BRICS+ as an increasingly influential economic entity.
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