At least five new members have joined the BRICS group, a major platform for emerging markets. These five countries are Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Ethiopia.
According to *Katadata*, their membership became effective on January 1, 2024, marking a significant expansion for the bloc originally founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Therefore, the total number of BRICS members is now ten.
However, among the countries long rumored to be joining BRICS, only Argentina withdrew. Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, stated that now is not the right time for his country to join the economic bloc, as reported by *CNN Indonesia*.
Despite sharing a common background as developing nations, BRICS countries exhibit varying economic growth rates.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its *World Economic Outlook October 2023* report, projected percentage changes in the economic growth of countries worldwide in 2024.
Among the BRICS nations, India is predicted to experience the highest percentage change in annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, at 6.3% in 2024.
The IMF stated that growth in India has been projected to remain strong since 2023, with an upward revision of 0.2 percentage points for that year.
"This reflects stronger-than-expected consumption during April-June," the IMF said in its report.
Next is Ethiopia at 6.2%, followed by China at 4.2%.
Unfortunately, China's prediction was revised down by 0.2 percentage points for 2023 and by 0.3 percentage points for 2024, resulting in a growth prediction of 5% in 2023 and 4.2% in 2024.
"The country's property market crisis and lower investment are the main factors behind this revision," said the IMF.
Next are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the same prediction, 4% in 2024.
Egypt is at 3.6% and Iran at 2.5%. Then, the last three countries are South Africa (1.8%), Brazil (1.5%), and Russia (1.1%).
(Also read: [Looking at the BRICS Economic Growth Forecast 2023-2024, Who is the Biggest?](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/08/30/melihat-ramalan-pertumbuhan-ekonomi-brics-2023-2024-siapa-terbesar))