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World leaders are flying into South Africa. They are in the country for a meeting, held this week, about money and global power.

But Joe BidenAn American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. , Rishi SunakA British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. and Emmanuel MacronThe current president of France, nicknamed "Jupiter" after the chief of the Roman deities for his top-down manner of governance. are not there. This is a meeting of BRICS - or Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 

BRICS is not a formal group. But they hold informal meetings, mostly focused on money. They are a group of five countries that experts in the early 2000s picked out as nations that were growing fast. Soon, they would be a big part of the world economyThe way that money flows through a country, which affects wages and the cost of living.. South Africa joined in 2010. 

They are a newer group than the G7A group made up of six of the world's major industrialised nations/advanced economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK) plus the EU. All of its current members are democracies. , which include some of the richest countries in the world - the ones that have had the most power on the world stage for many decades. 

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Today, BRICS leaders are not the only ones meeting in South Africa. Leaders from countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are all there. They hope their countries might be invited to join. Many want to take over from the G7 as one of the most powerful groups in world economics. 

Many G7 countries are facing hard times. The UK's position in the world is still unclear after Brexit. And the USAThe United States of America is a country in North America. It has a population of 329 million. 's next leader could be Donald Trump, a man who may be facing a jail sentence. 

But the BRICS countries are not all stable either. Russia's leader Vladimir Putin cannot go to South Africa because he is afraid he will be arrestedStopped by the police and taken to a police station. over his part in the war in Ukraine. China's leader Xi Jinping went to South Africa, but at the last minute said he would not take part. Some think he could be unwell.  

Yes! The West is not as powerful as it once was. China and India in particular are becoming very powerful. Other countries will look to them, not the USA or Europe, for leadership. 

No! BRICS countries are nowhere near overtaking the power of the West. One of its key leaders, Vladimir Putin, can barely even leave his own country.

Joe Biden - An American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025.

Rishi Sunak - A British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024.

Emmanuel Macron - The current president of France, nicknamed "Jupiter" after the chief of the Roman deities for his top-down manner of governance.

Economy - The way that money flows through a country, which affects wages and the cost of living.

G7 - A group made up of six of the world's major industrialised nations/advanced economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK) plus the EU. All of its current members are democracies.

USA - The United States of America is a country in North America. It has a population of 329 million.

Arrested - Stopped by the police and taken to a police station.