Is South Africa worthy of it's Bric in Brics?

Abstract

'BRIC' is an acronym created by Jim O’Neil to describe some of the world’s leading emergingeconomies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, and China. During 2010, the members of the group included South Africa and 'BRIC' was renamed 'BRICS'. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether South Africa should be included in BRICS, taking into account that the country represents the whole of Africa. Data was collected by means of self- administered questionnaires and face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that South Africa should be included in BRICS as it is depicted as the regional leader and gateway to the continent. This is demonstrated by its global economic prominence especially through multilateral organisations such as SADC, AU, and it is the only African country in the G20. It is recommended that South Africa should work together with other African countries and encourage their inclusion in achieving common economic goals.