Goldman Sachs economists coined the acronym – Brics, referring to Brazil, Russia, India and China – first in 2001, then in more substantial forecasts in 2003. But it became shorthand for one of the decade's defining phenomena: the rise of the biggest emerging markets, marking a shift in global power. Goldman forecast the Brics could together outstrip the world's existing six biggest economies by 2039; China might overtake the US by 2041.
The idea soon became visible as millions of newly middle-class consumers bought cars and flat-screen TVs, while vast ships carried iron ore from Brazil to China and ferried cheap goods across the Pacific to the US. It was also plain in soaring prices for commodities being sucked into the factories, building sites and infrastructure projects of the waking giants.
The Brics concept spawned multiple investment funds. It sparked controversy too: whether others (Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey) should be included; over growth assumptions; and if the earth's dwindling resources and simmering climate can support such development. It even fuelled political assertiveness, with the first “Brics summit” in Russia in 2009.