BRICS economies now larger than G7 – Putin

The Russian president says the economic group is crucial to the formation of a multipolar world

The BRICS nations have overtaken G7 states in terms of the purchasing power parity (PPP) of their populations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday in an interview with China Media Group.

“As for BRICS, at the time of the summit in Johannesburg [in August], the ratio of the economies of the G7 countries and the BRICS countries was already in favor of BRICS in terms of purchasing power parity,” Putin said.

BRICS currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but the group will be joined in January by Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

The G7 club of industrialized and developed countries consists of the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan.

According to Putin, the BRICS expansion will prove beneficial to the group, which has historically positioned itself as an alternative to Western-dominated international institutions.

The Russian leader further argued that the move clearly reflects the ongoing formation of a new multipolar world.

READ MORE: Expanded BRICS will make up nearly 40% of global economy – data

“This means that every country joining BRICS supports the idea and concept of forming a multipolar world, as no one wants to play second fiddle to a ruler, seeking equal relations,” he said.

Earlier this year, UK-based economic research firm Acorn Macro Consulting reported that BRICS member nations had surpassed the G7 in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on PPP.

According to the analysts, the five BRICS nations accounted for nearly 31.5% of global GDP, compared to 30.7% for the G7.

Find more stories on economy and finance in TROIB business