BRICS

• Brazil: (economy)

  • Regionally important in SA. Produces 1/2 of regions GDP (2015). Reliance of primary good exports
• Brazil: (military)

  • Accounts for 60% of military spending in South America . No nukes
• Brazil: (Political)

  • Recent accusations of corruption (2020 President's son charged with corruption)
  • Lots of protests since 2013
• Brazil: (Cultural)

  • Major football nation. 2014 world cup + 2016 Olympics.
  • Rio Carnival
  • Aryton Senna, Felipe Massa. Felipe Drugovich
• Brazil: (Demographic)

  • 1/2 of SA population (210 million).
  • Young workforce. Median age of 31.3 in 2015
  • Fertilist rate fallen from 6 in 1960 to 1.8 in 2015
• Brazil: (environmental)

  • 13% of known species found there
  • Lots of illegal poaching + pollution + deforesation
• Russia: (economy)

  • 2024 - 8th largest by GDP
  • Very dependent on oil + gas exports - price fluctuations
  • Richest 1% control 71% of wealth
• Russia: (Military)

  • Spends $70b on military
  • Ageing Navy and airforce (only 1 aircraft carrier and is crap)
  • 7700 nukes
• Russia: (Political)

  • Permanent seat on UN security council
  • Was member of G8 but booted out after Crimea
  • Banned from Olympics
  • Influence over USSR states - Belarus and Ukraine
• Russia: (Cultural)

  • Vast history
  • Russian not spoen much internationally
  • Large cultural tourism industry
  • 81% of population Ethnically Russian
• Russia: (Demographic)

  • Declining population with little inward migration.
  • Fertility rate of 1.78 in 2015
• Russia: (Environmental)

  • Chernobyl nuclear disaster
  • 16m water loss in Adriatic sea due to cotton picking
• India: (Economy)

  • 2024 5th largest economy by GDP
  • Knowledgable population with strong English and IT skills - call centres such as British Airways
  • Large debts
  • Poor infrastructure - water and energy
• India: (military)

  • Has nuclear weapons -110
  • Spends $45b / year on defence
• India: (Political)

  • Largest democracy - 672m voters
  • Active in UN peace keeping missions
  • Apart of G20
• India: (Cultural)

  • Birth place of Hinduuism, Budism + Sikhism.
  • Bollywood - 1200 movies produced a year but has little global reach
• India: (demographic)

  • Largest population in world - 1.45b (2024)
  • 66.2% are 15-64
  • Tech smart
  • 20% live in extreme poverty
• India: (environment)

  • 6% of world's biodiversity - threatend by population growth
  • 3rd largest CO2 emittor
• China: (economy)

  • China's GDP / capita only 10% of USA's
  • Wealth not evenly distributed
  • Most patents - 1.6m in 2023
  • 2009 only 2% of population graduated from uni - typically it's 25-30%
• China: (military)

  • $216.4b military budget - 2nd largest
  • 1 aircraft carrier - weak blue water navy. USA has 11
  • 260 nukes + 9 nuclear submarines
• China: (politcal)

  • Rarely gets involved in global crisis (such as middle east)
  • Is an authortarian one party political system
• China: (demograhpic)

  • One child population made an ageing population. By 2020, 12% of Chinese will be over 65. India's = 6%
  • 1.41b population (2024)
• China: (Environment)

  • World's largest CO2 emittor
  • 1990 - 2013 emissions grew by 286% and produces 33% of global emissions
  • However largest investor in green technolgoy