Federative Republic of Brazil
Area: 8.515 million square kilometres
Population: 201 million
Capital: Brasília
Head of state: President Dilma Vana Rousseff
State system: A federative republic
Interesting facts:
Brazil is the world’s biggest producer of sugar, oranges and coffee, accounting for over 35 percent of the world’s coffee output.
Each year Rio da Janeiro hosts one of the largest carnivals in the world.
Brazil is the only country that has participated in all world football championships.
Brazil is the largest country in South America and fifth largest in the world in land area.
Russian Federation
Area: 17.125 million square kilometres
Population: 145.842 million
Capital: Moscow
Head of state: President Vladimir Putin
BRICS Sherpa: Sergei Ryabkov
State system: A democratic federated rule-of-law republic
Interesting facts:
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world crossing 10 time zones. Its shores touch 12 seas.
Republic of India
Area: 3.287 million square kilometres
Population: 1.252 billion
Capital: New Delhi
Head of state: President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee
State system: A parliamentary republic
Interesting facts:
India has over 150.000 post offices, which makes its postal system the largest in the world.
India is the birthplace of yoga, chess, and Ayurveda, the oldest medical school in the world.
With its million-strong workforce, Indian Railways is the biggest employer in the country.
People’s Republic of China
Area: 9.597 million square kilometres
Population: 1.357 billion
Capital: Beijing
Head of state: Chairman Xi Jinping
State system: A socialist (Communist) republic
Interesting facts:
China for centuries led the world in scientific thought, inventing the compass, gunpowder, porcelain, paper, printing, stirrups and silk.
China is home to one of the Wonders of the World — the Great Wall of China — the largest architectural monument in history preserved since ancient times.
The 1.795-kilometre Grand Canal of China is the oldest and longest canal in the world, dotted with 24 castles and spanned by over 60 bridges.
Republic of South Africa
Area: 1.22 million square kilometres
Population: 52.981 million
Capital: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative),
Bloemfontein (judiciary)
Head of state: President Jacob Zuma
State system: A parliamentary republic
Interesting facts:
South Africa is home to the Cradle of Humankind, the oldest known prehistoric burial site.
South Africa is third in the world for the purity of its municipal water.
South Africa has 11 official languages, with the majority of people fluent in at least three.