The acronym BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The term was coined by the Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs, in 2001, in a paper titled -Building Better Global Economic BRICs, Which looked at the growth prospects of the four largest emerging economies that are culturally and geographically disparate. The main finding was that the BRICs would play an increasingly important role in the global economy. The projections were revised in later publications, as the BRIC economies fared better than expected. This study expands the original terms of reference to include South Africa because of its growing significance in the global economy. The new acronym is, therefore, BRICS and it symbolizes the collective economic power of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Together the BRICS account for more than 40 per cent of the global population, nearly 30 per cent of the land mass, and a share in world GDP (in PPP terms) that increased from 16 per cent in 2000 to nearly 25 per cent in 2010 and is expected to rise significantly in the near future.