New Delhi is preparing for the BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13, with the meeting bringing together leaders of 11 member countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are among the leaders who will land in India for the summit at Bharat Mandapam.
The national capital will witness a heavy security deployment during the two-day event. Around 15,000 police personnel and 200 companies of paramilitary forces are expected to be deployed across the capital.
The summit also gives a sense of how much BRICS has changed since India last hosted the meeting in Delhi in 2012 and 2021. The grouping that began with four countries now has 11 members, giving it a much larger economic, demographic and military footprint.
It has also led to comparisons with the Group of Seven (G7), a forum of leading advanced economies.
BRICS and G7: Two very different blocs
BRICS began with Brazil, Russia, India and China. The four countries held their first meeting as BRIC in 2006 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The first BRIC summit was held in 2009.
South Africa joined in 2010, turning BRIC into BRICS.
The next major expansion came in 2024, when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined it. Indonesia became a member in January 2025.
The bloc now has 11 members. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are among the partner countries.
The G7 has seven members – the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and Canada.
The two forums have different economic profiles. The G7 consists of advanced economies. BRICS has a large number of developing economies and includes China, Russia and Iran.
The size of BRICS becomes easier to understand if the 11 countries are treated as one hypothetical country.
Four billion people, 32% of world's land
The 11 BRICS members together have around 4 billion people, accounting for more than 49% of the world's population. It means nearly one in every two people in the world lives in a BRICS country.
The G7 countries have around 800 million people.
The difference is also visible in land area. The 11 BRICS countries cover around 4.77 crore square kilometers (about 32% of the world's total land area). The G7 countries together cover around 2.11 crore square kilometres.
The economic picture is different. According to IMF data cited in the source material, the combined GDP of the 11 BRICS members is around $35.18 trillion, accounting for about 40% of the world economy.
The G7 has a combined GDP of around $55.32 trillion, around 57% higher than BRICS.
Military strength gives BRICS another major advantage in terms of troop numbers.
China has around 20 lakh active military personnel, Russia around 11 lakh and India around 14.75 lakh, according to GlobalMilitary.net data cited in the source material. Across all 11 BRICS members, the total comes to more than 70.61 lakh soldiers.
The G7 countries together have around 24 lakh soldiers.
The picture changes when military aircraft are counted. BRICS countries have around 17,654 military aircraft, compared with about 17,899 for the G7.
Nuclear weapons also show the military weight of the two groups. China, Russia and India are the three nuclear-armed BRICS members. They have around 6,230 nuclear weapons. The United States, France and the United Kingdom are the three nuclear-armed G7 members, with around 5,637 weapons.
Oil gives BRICS another advantage
Energy is another area where BRICS has a large presence.
Six of the world's nine biggest oil-producing countries are BRICS members – Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Brazil, Iran and the UAE.
According to International Energy Agency data cited in the source material, these six countries account for around 38.6% of world's oil production.
The United States and Canada are also among the world's largest oil producers, giving the G7 a strong position in energy markets.
China and India also have large refining capacities. India is among the world's biggest oil refining countries, giving the bloc an important role in the processing and supply of petroleum products.
BRICS also has a major position in rare earth minerals, which are used in electronics, electric vehicles, defence equipment and several other industries. China accounts for more than 80% of world's rare earth mineral production.
The grouping's share of world trade is around 46%, according to the data cited in the source material.
Trade among BRICS countries has also increased over the years. In 2003, it stood at around $84 billion. By 2024, it had risen to $1.17 trillion.
Can BRICS challenge G7?
The numbers give BRICS a huge presence in population, land, energy, trade and military manpower. The G7 still has a major advantage in finance and international monetary systems.
The US dollar accounts for around 56% of the world's foreign exchange reserves, according to the source material. The euro accounts for around 20%.
BRICS countries have been working on increasing trade in local currencies to reduce dependence on the dollar. Some members conduct parts of their bilateral trade in their own currencies.
The idea of a common BRICS currency has also been discussed. India, Brazil, the UAE and South Africa have opposed such a proposal.
The financial system presents another hurdle. SWIFT, the Belgium-based international banking messaging system, is used for more than 90% of international transactions. Russia was removed from parts of the system after the Ukraine war began in 2022.
That gives Western financial institutions considerable influence over international payments.
BRICS has added more members and now represents a much larger share of the world's population and economic activity. Its members are also trying to increase trade among themselves and reduce dependence on Western financial systems.
The Delhi summit comes at a time when the grouping is far larger than the BRICS India hosted in 2012. The numbers explain why BRICS meetings have an impact far beyond its membership.