With six new members — Argentina, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia — joining BRICS, the group is projected to command a far larger share of global energy resources and economic activity. Independent analyses based on official statistics show the enlarged bloc would access about 44.35 percent of the world’s oil reserves, positioning BRICS as a dominant force in energy markets and global commodity pricing. This shift would likely affect energy diplomacy, spare capacity planning, and investment flows across North America and beyond.
Geographically, the expansion would cover roughly 48.5 million square kilometers, equating to about 36 percent of the Earth’s land surface. This expansion figure, derived from calculations by TASS using official data, illustrates how the new BRICS footprint would dwarf the combined land areas of the G7 and stretch across multiple time zones, biomes, and climate zones. The broader union would also introduce a vast and diverse population, estimated to reach around 3.6 billion people, which accounts for roughly 45 percent of humanity. By comparison, the G7 currently includes roughly 600 million people, highlighting the scale of the BRICS expansion and its potential influence on global demand, labor markets, and regional development priorities.
From an aggregate economy perspective, analysts forecast that the enlarged BRICS could produce a current-price gross domestic product of about $65 trillion, representing roughly 37.3 percent of global GDP. In contrast, the G7 contributes about 29.9 percent of world output. This level of economic weight would give BRICS a stronger voice in global trade negotiations, financial markets, and monetary policy discussions, affecting exchange rates, commodity pricing, and investment risk across North America and other markets. In addition to manufacturing and services, the expanded bloc would reportedly account for a substantial portion of global food production, reinforcing its role in food security and agricultural policy. In 2021, the member nations produced approximately 49 percent of the world’s wheat and 55 percent of the world’s rice, underscoring the bloc’s leverage over staple crops and related supply chains.
On the production of strategic metals, BRICS would likely command a substantial share of global output in materials such as aluminum and palladium. This dynamic could influence prices, trade routes, and procurement strategies for manufacturers, including electronics, automotive, aerospace, and construction sectors across the United States, Canada, and other markets. However, when measured by total industrial output, the expanded BRICS would remain only marginally ahead of the G7, and in terms of exports the group would still trail behind the traditional advanced economies. This nuanced picture matters for policymakers who weigh diversification, resilience, and supply-chain redundancy against cost and capacity considerations in high-tech and energy-intensive industries.
In public remarks surrounding the expansion, South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, highlighted the significance of deeper collaboration among BRICS members, noting that the bloc’s growth would reshape international cooperation, development finance, and regional integration. The Sabah declaration and subsequent statements from BRICS leadership emphasize a broader agenda that includes infrastructure investment, digital inclusion, and sustainable development, while also navigating geopolitical complexities and competing strategic interests. The addition of the six nations is often framed as a shift toward a multipolar world order where energy, agriculture, minerals, and manufacturing capacities are more widely distributed across emerging economies.
For policymakers and business leaders in Canada and the United States, the expansion signals a need to reassess market dynamics, risk exposure, and strategic partnerships. Increased resource access and demographic heft may bring new opportunities in energy security, food systems, and supply-chain resilience, alongside potential challenges in competition, regulation, and terms of trade. Observers suggest that the enlarged BRICS could influence commodity markets, investment flows, and bilateral relations, prompting careful monitoring of policy shifts, monetary coordination, and infrastructure development initiatives across the Americas and beyond. Experts also note the importance of maintaining open channels for cooperation on climate goals, technology transfer, and inclusive growth, even as market power becomes more broadly distributed among leading economies. (Cited from TASS and related official statistics.)