The head of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, stated in an interview for RIA Novosti yesterday that the BRICS states have overtaken the G7 in terms of share in global GDP in PPP terms.

As new members have joined, the group’s share in global output rose from 31% to 35% as of the end of 2023, he added. This is based on the GDP in terms of the PPP (purchasing power parity) metric. The latter compares economic productivity and standards of living between countries by checking the differences in the cost of goods and services. 

Nabiullina stressed that BRICS's role now is very vital, stating, “BRICS economies are developing quite quickly."

Last year, the economic bloc accepted the joining of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates as new members. Its older members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, noting that they encourage others to join the bloc.  

Argentina officially accepted the invitation and was supposed to join on January 1 of this year, however, the country's new President Javier Milei reversed the decision heading toward the West instead. 

BRICS is expected to lead more than 40% of global crude oil production, while its population will amount to nearly 3.6 billion – almost half of the world’s total due to the joining of its new members.

Many other states have shown interest in joining BRICS, while some have even already formally submitted applications. The latter includes Venezuela, Thailand, Senegal, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Bahrain, and Pakistan. 

The IMF reported that the G7’s share in global GDP in terms of PPP has been on a steady decline over the past several years, dropping from 50.42% in 1982 to 30.39% in 2022. It expects the figure to drop lower to 29.44% this year.

Kremlin predicted this

According to Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the BRICS expansion will strengthen the group, and the topic will be covered at the forthcoming summit in South Africa.

"We believe that in one form or another, the expansion of the BRICS will contribute to the further development and strengthening of this organization. The form, the extent [of the expansion] - this is exactly what we will discuss during the upcoming summit," Peskov told reporters on August 3, 2023.

"This is a matter [the enlargement of BRICS] of discussion, we do not think that we need to get ahead of ourselves and declare our position before a discussion between the BRICS member states. In any case, we are talking about countries with which we have quite constructive interaction in various fields," he said.

Although the introduction of a single BRICS currency is now unachievable, Peskov stated that does not imply the topic should not be addressed.

"It is hardly possible to implement, but this does not mean that it does not need to be discussed. Discussions on this matter, of course, will continue," he told reporters.