THE DIVERSITY OF THE BRICS

BRICS STRONGER, BUT NOT ALWAYS IN UNISON

Fin24, January 4, 2012

Sao Paulo - A slow but steady shift in the global balance of power toward the China-led Brics club of emerging nations was confirmed in 2011, but it will take some time before its members can speak with one voice, experts say.

The Brics - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - now account for roughly 18% of the world's GDP, 40% of its population, 15% of global trade and hold 40% of global currency reserves.

With a combined GDP totaling nearly $14 trillion, their economies have accounted for 30% of global economic growth since Goldman Sachs coined the BRIC acronym in 2001.

Intra-Brics trade, which stood at $230bn in 2010, now amounts to 8% of global trade.

The London-based Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said in a report last month that Brazil has supplanted Britain as the sixth largest economy behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany and France.

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