BRICs Growing as Economic Powers

Now that BRICs are looked to as the economic growth engines of the short- and long term future, they're now sharing economic power which extends beyond the G-8. China itself will soon pass Japan as the second-largest economy in the world, behind only the U.S.

While the G-8 accounts for about 66 percent of the overall global GDP, when taking into account the G-20, they together makeup close to 85 percent of all global economic production.

What has changed economically from the past, is now the countries in the G-20 are more the drivers of economic recovery, versus the G-8, which used to be the main economic force in the world, and the engine of recovery.

Making up the G-20 members are Argentina, India, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the U.K., Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.