Indonesia joins BRICS — bloc now spans 46% of world population

Indonesia officially becomes the 10th BRICS member — the first Southeast Asian nation to join. The expanded bloc now accounts for 46% of the world’s population and 35.6% of global GDP (PPP). Combined BRICS+ nations control roughly 30% of global oil output. China’s CIPS payment system now connects 1,467 financial institutions across 111 countries — an explicit alternative to SWIFT.