BRICS is a multilaterial group of nations that was formed to foster economic cooperation. The name comes from the first letter of the name of each member nation: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The acronym BRIC dates to 2001 and was the creation of Roopa Purushothaman, who helped in the writing of a research report by Jim O'Neill, a high-ranking economist at Goldman Sachs. The report detailed the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

The international heads-of-state gatherings began in 2009, at the instigation of Russia, as a way to foster cooperation between the member nations. Heads-of-state meetings are now annual; other representatives meet more often.

South Africa joined the group in 2010, when it changed its name to BRICS. At present, the five member nations comprise 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's economic power. In recent years, the nations have forged agreements on communications and informational technology.

The group is not a formal organization like the United Nations or the European Union; but like the EU, the BRICS nations name a chairman for a year, on a rotating basis. In 2014, the nations created their own financial institution, the New Development Bank, with headquarters in Shanghai. Other countries have become participants in the New Development Bank.

As of 2023, nearly two dozen other countries had made formal applications to join the BRICs group and another similar number had expressed informal interest in joining.