BRICS Snapshot: PESTLE, SWOT, Risk & Comparative Macroeconomic Analysis

Publication ID:

NAV0926002

Publication Date:

September 14, 2026

Pages:

Countries:

Brazil [1]

Russia [2]

India [3]

China [4]

South Africa [5]

Egypt [6]

Ethiopia [7]

Iran [8]

United Arab Emirates [9]

Indonesia [10]

BRICS today spans ten full members -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia -- following the January 2024 and January 2025 expansion waves, with contemporaneous reporting on the September 2026 New Delhi summit now routinely describing the bloc as an "11-member" grouping inclusive of Saudi Arabia. Combined, the ten members analysed in this report account for roughly 46% of the world's population and, on a purchasing-power-parity basis, a share of global output that now exceeds the G7's, with combined 2026 nominal GDP of approximately US$33.8 trillion (IMF WEO, April 2026) -- though China alone contributes close to 70% of that total, and growth rates diverge sharply across the bloc, from Ethiopia's ~9.2% to Iran's ~-6.1% contraction amid the 2026 Middle East war.

This September 2026 edition has been updated to incorporate the actual outcome of the 18th BRICS Summit: the New Delhi Declaration, adopted unanimously on 13 September 2026 after negotiations reportedly running until roughly 4am on the final day. The report's core analytical finding -- that BRICS functions as a loose, issue-specific coalition rather than a unified geopolitical bloc -- is tested directly against the declaration's actual content in Section 4.3, which found the declaration bridged members' sharpest disputes (Iran-UAE tension over the Middle East, Russia's war in Ukraine) through deliberate vagueness rather than resolution, while producing genuinely specific language only where members' interests already converge: IMF/World Bank/UN Security Council reform, opposition to unilateral tariffs and sanctions, and incremental cross-border payment cooperation.

Scope of the BRICS Snapshot: PESTLE, SWOT, Risk & Comparative Macroeconomic Analysis

This report provides full PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental), SWOT and Risk analysis for all 10 current BRICS members, updated to IMF WEO April 2026 data and cross-checked against the July 2026 WEO Update.
This report provides a comparative macroeconomic section spanning GDP (nominal and PPP), growth, inflation, current account, fiscal balance, government debt, investment and trade-volume growth across all 10 members.
This report provides a dedicated BRICS Interdependence section covering bilateral trade patterns, New Development Bank financing by member, sovereign credit standing, and local-currency/de-dollarization settlement.
This report provides a dedicated geopolitical assessment of the bloc's internal fault lines (China-India, Iran-UAE, Egypt-Ethiopia, Russia-West, South Africa's non-alignment) and tests them directly against the actual 18th Summit joint declaration.
This report includes 56 data exhibits (35 tables, 21 figures) covering country-level macro trends, comparative charts, SWOT summaries and risk-factor tables.

Segment by Analytical Framework

Comparative Macroeconomic Analysis
Trade & Institutional Interdependence
Geopolitical Fault-Line / Risk Assessment
PESTLE Analysis (per country)
SWOT & Risk Analysis (per country)

Segment by Country Covered

Brazil
Russia
India
China
South Africa
Egypt
Ethiopia
Iran
United Arab Emirates
Indonesia

Who Can Use the BRICS Snapshot Report?

This research report is ideal for people who need a granular, country-by-country view of the BRICS bloc rather than aggregate headline narratives. Some of the intended users are:

Investment strategists and country-risk analysts assessing emerging-market and BRICS-bloc exposure
Corporate strategy and market-entry teams evaluating individual BRICS economies
Policy researchers and government affairs professionals tracking BRICS institutional development and summit outcomes
Trade and supply-chain professionals assessing intra-BRICS trade relationships and de-dollarization trends
Academic and think-tank researchers studying multipolarity, Global South institution-building, and BRICS expansion

Executive Summary: The 18th BRICS Summit & the State of the Bloc
1. 1.1 Key Takeaways
BRICS Comparative Macroeconomic Analysis
1. 2.1 Full Comparative Data Table (2026)
2. 2.2 Notes on Sources and Scope
BRICS Interdependence: Trade, Investment & Institutional Linkages
1. 3.1 Bilateral Trade Patterns
2. 3.2 New Development Bank: Financing by Member
3. 3.3 Sovereign Credit Standing Across the Bloc
4. 3.4 Local-Currency Settlement & De-Dollarization
Internal Rivalries vs. Collective Ambition: Can BRICS Succeed?
1. 4.1 Principal Fault Lines Within the Bloc
2. 4.2 Assessment: Counterweight to US Hegemony, or Issue-Specific Coalition?
3. 4.3 The 18th Summit's Joint Declaration: What It Says and What It Means
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — Brazil
1. 5.1 Political Factors
2. 5.2 Economic Factors
3. 5.3 Social Factors
4. 5.4 Technological Factors
5. 5.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 5.6 Environmental Factors
7. 5.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 5.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — Russia
1. 6.1 Political Factors
2. 6.2 Economic Factors
3. 6.3 Social Factors
4. 6.4 Technological Factors
5. 6.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 6.6 Environmental Factors
7. 6.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 6.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — India
1. 7.1 Political Factors
2. 7.2 Economic Factors
3. 7.3 Social Factors
4. 7.4 Technological Factors
5. 7.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 7.6 Environmental Factors
7. 7.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 7.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — China
1. 8.1 Political Factors
2. 8.2 Economic Factors
3. 8.3 Social Factors
4. 8.4 Technological Factors
5. 8.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 8.6 Environmental Factors
7. 8.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 8.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — South Africa
1. 9.1 Political Factors
2. 9.2 Economic Factors
3. 9.3 Social Factors
4. 9.4 Technological Factors
5. 9.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 9.6 Environmental Factors
7. 9.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 9.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — Egypt
1. 10.1 Political Factors
2. 10.2 Economic Factors
3. 10.3 Social Factors
4. 10.4 Technological Factors
5. 10.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 10.6 Environmental Factors
7. 10.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 10.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — Ethiopia
1. 11.1 Political Factors
2. 11.2 Economic Factors
3. 11.3 Social Factors
4. 11.4 Technological Factors
5. 11.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 11.6 Environmental Factors
7. 11.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 11.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — Iran
1. 12.1 Political Factors
2. 12.2 Economic Factors
3. 12.3 Social Factors
4. 12.4 Technological Factors
5. 12.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 12.6 Environmental Factors
7. 12.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 12.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — UAE
1. 13.1 Political Factors
2. 13.2 Economic Factors
3. 13.3 Social Factors
4. 13.4 Technological Factors
5. 13.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 13.6 Environmental Factors
7. 13.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 13.8 Risk Analysis
PESTLE, SWOT & Risk Analysis — Indonesia
1. 14.1 Political Factors
2. 14.2 Economic Factors
3. 14.3 Social Factors
4. 14.4 Technological Factors
5. 14.5 Legal & Regulatory Factors
6. 14.6 Environmental Factors
7. 14.7 SWOT Analysis
8. 14.8 Risk Analysis

List of Exhibits

Table 2.1 — BRICS comparative macroeconomic snapshot, 2026 (IMF WEO, April 2026)
Table 3.1 — Indicative top trading partners by BRICS member (most recent full-year data available; rounded)
Table 3.2 — NDB approved financing by member (approximate, most recent disclosures, 2025–26)
Table 3.3 — S&P long-term sovereign credit ratings, BRICS members, 2026
Table 4.1 — Principal bilateral conflicts of interest among BRICS members, 2026
Table 5.1 — Brazil: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 5.2 — Brazil: SWOT summary
Table 5.3 — Brazil: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 6.1 — Russia: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 6.2 — Russia: SWOT summary
Table 6.3 — Russia: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 7.1 — India: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 7.2 — India: SWOT summary
Table 7.3 — India: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 8.1 — China: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 8.2 — China: SWOT summary
Table 8.3 — China: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 9.1 — South Africa: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 9.2 — South Africa: SWOT summary
Table 9.3 — South Africa: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 10.1 — Egypt: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 10.2 — Egypt: SWOT summary
Table 10.3 — Egypt: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 11.1 — Ethiopia: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 11.2 — Ethiopia: SWOT summary
Table 11.3 — Ethiopia: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 12.1 — Iran: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 12.2 — Iran: SWOT summary
Table 12.3 — Iran: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 13.1 — UAE: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 13.2 — UAE: SWOT summary
Table 13.3 — UAE: principal risk factors, 2026
Table 14.1 — Indonesia: selected macroeconomic indicators, 2023–2028 (IMF WEO Apr 2026; 2026–28 are IMF projections)
Table 14.2 — Indonesia: SWOT summary
Table 14.3 — Indonesia: principal risk factors, 2026
Figure 2.1 — Nominal GDP by BRICS member, 2026 (US$ billion)
Figure 2.2 — Nominal vs. PPP GDP by BRICS member, 2026 (log scale)
Figure 2.3 — Real GDP growth by BRICS member, 2026 (%)
Figure 2.4 — Real GDP growth trend, 2018–2031 (%)
Figure 2.5 — GDP per capita, PPP basis, 2026 (international $)
Figure 2.6 — Consumer price inflation, 2026 average (%)
Figure 2.7 — Current account balance, 2026 (% of GDP)
Figure 2.8 — General government gross debt, 2026 (% of GDP)
Figure 2.9 — Government net lending/borrowing, 2026 (% of GDP)
Figure 2.10 — Total investment, 2026 (% of GDP)
Figure 2.11 — Export and import volume growth (goods & services), 2026 (%)
Figure 5.1 — Brazil: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 6.1 — Russia: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 7.1 — India: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 8.1 — China: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 9.1 — South Africa: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 10.1 — Egypt: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 11.1 — Ethiopia: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 12.1 — Iran: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 13.1 — UAE: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031
Figure 14.1 — Indonesia: key macroeconomic trends, 2019–2031

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