Introduction
If BRICS still means only five countries in your notes, this year’s summit will feel messy. The 18th BRICS Summit 2026 is not a small update. India is hosting it. The group is larger than the name. And the country list is the part most people forget first.
This note explains the summit in a clear order, then shows a simple way to remember the member countries. The meeting is on 12 and 13 September 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Until the New Delhi Declaration is released, do not treat outcomes as final.
What is BRICS ?
Think of BRICS as a table, not a court and not an army. Large emerging and developing countries sit at that table to talk about politics, trade, money, development and people-to-people work.
The name began as BRIC: Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa came in later, and the name became BRICS. That five-letter word stayed, even after more countries joined. So the name is old. The membership is new. That gap is why people get confused.
BRICS work is usually placed under three broad pillars:
- political and security
- economic and financial
- cultural and people-to-people
Keep that list for the grouping itself.
India’s 2026 theme uses four other words. Those four words belong to this chairship year. They are not a second copy of the three pillars above.
One more distinction saves a lot of trouble:
- BRICS is the group of countries
- the summit is the leaders’ meeting
- NDB is the bank linked to the group
The New Development Bank has its headquarters in Shanghai. The 2026 summit is in New Delhi. If you remember only one warning from this page, remember that.
How the group became 11
BRICS later expanded beyond the original five, adding more full members in 2024 and 2025.
The current official list used by India in 2026 has 11 countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
The years matter:
- first core: Brazil, Russia, India, China
- South Africa joined around 2010–11
- January 2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
- January 2025: Indonesia became a full member
Indonesia is the latest full member.
Partners are a different door. They work with BRICS but are not counted in the 11. The current partner countries are Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. That is 10 names. Vietnam is on this list.
A useful pair to keep apart: Indonesia is a member. Malaysia is a partner.
Official Indian briefings give the grouping these size figures: about 49.5% of world population, about 40% of world GDP, and about 26% of world trade. If exact options appear, use those numbers. If the options are rounded, think “about half, about two-fifths, about one-fourth.”
What India is hosting this year
India took the BRICS chair on 1 January 2026. This is India’s fourth chairship. The earlier years were 2012, 2016 and 2021. Brazil hosted the 17th summit in 2025.
The 18th BRICS Summit 2026 will be held on 12–13 September 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Official Indian material also marks 2026 as 20 years since BRICS was established in 2006.
Before the leaders arrived in Delhi, more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements were held across 25 cities during the chairship year. The New Delhi meeting is the public face of that longer process.
The theme is:
Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability
A short handle is RICS: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, Sustainability.
In simple words:
- Resilience covers health, food, energy, disasters and supply chains
- Innovation covers digital public infrastructure, fintech, AI, start-ups and research
- Cooperation covers trade, finance, reform of global institutions and people-to-people work
- Sustainability covers climate, green finance and energy change
If you have little time, remember the full theme sentence first. The four short meanings are only backup.
The expected document after the meeting is the New Delhi Declaration. Attendance details can change until the opening session. Member names are more stable than guest names.
How to remember the host and the member countries
First remember the host, because that part is easy and still gets asked.
Host country: India
Host city: New Delhi
Venue: Bharat Mandapam
Dates: 12–13 September 2026
A one-line hook: India hosts the 18th meeting in Delhi in mid-September.
Now the harder part: the 11 countries.
Do not learn them as one long row. The mind drops the middle names. Split them into three bags.
Bag 1: the old five
Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
This bag is the word BRICS itself. If you can spell BRICS, you already have five countries.
Bag 2: the five 2024 joiners
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia
Use this line: Eagles Eat In Unique Sands.
- E Egypt
- E Ethiopia
- I Iran
- U UAE
- S Saudi Arabia
Say the line twice. Then say the five country names without the line. If one name does not come, go back to the letter, not to a random guess.
Bag 3: the 2025 joiner
Indonesia
One picture helps: after the 2024 five, add the big island country in Southeast Asia.
The full drill takes ten seconds:
Old five = BRICS
2024 five = Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia
Plus one = Indonesia (2025)
Total = 11
Some people remember better by map than by letters. Use this only as a second net:
- South America: Brazil
- Europe and Asia: Russia
- South Asia: India
- East Asia: China
- Southeast Asia: Indonesia
- Africa: South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia
- West Asia: Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia
Do not start with the map if the three-bag drill already works. Extra methods help only when one method fails.
A small practice that actually works: close this page and write the 11 names. Check once. Write them again the next morning. Two short recalls beat one long reading.
What the summit is likely to talk about
From official and widely reported briefings, the talks include reform of global institutions, trade and supply chains, payments and development finance, food and energy security, technology and AI, and regional issues that members may raise.
That list is enough to understand the meeting. It is not a promise of every final line in the declaration. Add official outcomes only after they are published.
Why India hosting this year matters
India is a founding member, and 2026 is its fourth turn as chair. The grouping is also marking 20 years since 2006. That is why the New Delhi meeting is larger than a routine annual photo.
The bigger change is membership. A group that once sat around five countries now includes energy producers, African economies and Indonesia. Questions about “who is in BRICS now” come from that change, not from the old five-letter name.
For a reader following public affairs or preparing a short note, three lines are enough:
India is the 2026 chair and host.
The summit is in New Delhi on 12–13 September.
BRICS now has 11 full members, with Indonesia the latest.
The rest of the page exists only to make those lines accurate.
Members, partners and the bank
Full members take part in the grouping as countries of BRICS. Partner countries stay close to the table but are not added to the number 11. That is why Vietnam can appear in a partner list without making BRICS a 12-member group.
The New Development Bank is the money institution linked to the grouping. Headquarters: Shanghai. Students and readers often place the bank in the host city of the latest summit. That habit is wrong this year. Delhi is hosting leaders. Shanghai houses the bank.
If a question names Johannesburg, that is an old mix-up from earlier BRICS history, not the NDB headquarters.
Conclusion
The 18th BRICS Summit 2026 is India’s turn to host the leaders of an expanded grouping. The place is Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The dates are 12 and 13 September 2026. The theme sits in four words: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, Sustainability.
The group now has 11 full members. Five of them joined in January 2024. Indonesia joined in January 2025. Ten countries are partners, not members. The bank linked to the group is in Shanghai. The summit is in New Delhi.
If the country names will not stay, use the three bags. Old five from the word BRICS. 2024 five from Eagles Eat In Unique Sands. Then Indonesia. That small drill is more useful for revision than trying to remember ten different headlines the night before you need them.
FAQs
Q1. When and where is the 18th BRICS Summit 2026?
A: 12–13 September 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
Q2. Who is the host?
A: India. India is the BRICS chair for 2026.
Q3. What is the theme?
A: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.
Q4. How many full members are there?
A: 11.
Q5. How do I remember the 11 countries?
A: Old five = BRICS. 2024 five = Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia. Plus Indonesia in 2025.
Q6. Is Saudi Arabia a member?
A: Yes. Official material includes it in the January 2024 expansion with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE.
Q7. Which country joined most recently as a full member?
A: Indonesia, in January 2025.
Q8. What is NDB?
A: The New Development Bank, linked to BRICS. Headquarters: Shanghai.
Q9. Are partner countries members?
A: No. There are 10 partners, including Vietnam.
Q10. What should be updated after the summit?
A: The New Delhi Declaration and any official outcomes.
Sources
- Press Information Bureau (PIB): 18th BRICS Summit, 11-member list, January 2024 expansion, Indonesia’s January 2025 membership, 49.5% / 40% / 26% figures, and 350 meetings across 25 cities
- Ministry of External Affairs / Government of India: BRICS 2026 chairship material
- Embassy of India note on the 18th BRICS Summit, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, 12–13 September 2026
- New Development Bank (ndb.int): headquarters in Shanghai, China
Note: Current-affairs facts can change. After 13 September 2026, add the New Delhi Declaration and any confirmed outcomes. Check the latest official sources before using the figures.
