Since the beginning of the 21st century, the BRICS countries have been considered the five foremost developing economies in the world. Originally, the term BRIC was used by economists when talking about the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, however these countries have held annual summits since 2009, and the group has expanded to include South Africa since 2010. China has the largest GDP of the BRICS country, at 16.86 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, while the others are all below three trillion. Combined, the BRICS bloc has a GDP over 25.85 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, which is slightly more than the United States. BRICS economic development China has consistently been the largest economy of this bloc, and its rapid growth has seen it become the second largest economy in the world, behind the U.S.. China's growth has also been much faster than the other BRICS countries; for example, when compared with the second largest BRICS economy, its GDP was less than double the size of Brazil's in 2000, but is almost six times larger than India's in 2021. Since 2000, the country with the second largest GDP has fluctuated between Brazil, Russia, and India, due to a variety of factors, although India has held this position since 2015 (when the other two experienced recession), and it's growth rate is on track to surpass China's in the coming decade. South Africa has consistently had the smallest economy of the BRICS bloc, and it has just the third largest economy in Africa; its inclusion in this group is due to the fact that it is the most advanced and stable major economy in Africa, and it holds strategic importance due to the financial potential of the continent in the coming decades. Future developments It is predicted that China's GDP will overtake that of the U.S. by the end of the 2020s, to become the largest economy in the world, while some also estimate that India will also overtake the U.S. around the middle of the century. Additionally, the BRICS group is more than just an economic or trading bloc, and its New Development Bank was established in 2014 to invest in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy across the globe. While relations between its members were often strained or of less significance in the 20th century, their current initiatives have given them a much greater international influence. The traditional great powers represented in the Group of Seven (G7) have seen their international power wane in recent decades, while BRICS countries have seen theirs grow, especially on a regional level. Today, the original BRIC countries combine with the Group of Seven (G7), to make up 11 of the world's 12 largest economies, but it is predicted that they will move further up on this list in the coming decades.

Dataset for the article "Survey on the US National Security Agency (NSA): Opinions, Concern and Information Security Awareness", presented at " Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS)" in September 2015.

Dataset of a simple survey with 8 questions. The survey was constructed as online survey and posted to the r/SampleSize community of reddit website (www.reddit.com). The survey was active 14-22 January 2014 and collected 444 answers.

Survey questions and possible answers were as follows (the order of response alternatives in the questionnaire was as presented): 1. How would you judge your level of proficiency in using information technology? Answers (5 levels): Not proficient at all, Slightly proficient, Somewhat proficient, Reasonably proficient, Very proficient. 2. Where do you live? Answers (4 categories): US, EU, BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), Other. 3. How familiar are you with function of the NSA (United States National Security Agency)? Answers (5 levels): Not familiar at all, Slightly familiar, Somewhat familiar, Reasonably familiar, Very familiar. 4. What is your general opinion on the NSA? Answers (9 levels): Extremely negative, Decidedly negative, Somewhat negative, Slightly negative, Neutral, Slightly positive, Somewhat positive, Decidedly positive, Extremely positive. 5. How familiar are you with actions of Edward Snowden in relation to the NSA activities? Answers (5 levels): Not familiar at all, Slightly familiar, Somewhat familiar, Reasonably familiar, Very familiar. 6. Did the NSA revelations (information disseminated by Edward Snowden) change your opinion of the NSA? Answers (7 levels): Greatly diminished, Somewhat diminished, Slightly diminished, Did not influence, Slightly improved, Somewhat improved, Greatly improved. 7. Do you find NSA revelations concerning? Answers (5 levels): Not concerning at all, Slightly concerning, Somewhat concerning, Decidedly concerning, Very concerning. 8. Did the NSA revelations increase your information security awareness? Answers (5 levels): Not at all, Slightly increased, Somewhat increased, Decidedly increased, Greatly increased.

As of February 2025, China ranked first among the countries with the most internet users worldwide. The world's most populated country had 1.11 billion internet users, more than triple the third-ranked United States, with just around 322 million internet users. Overall, all BRIC markets had over two billion internet users, accounting for four of the ten countries with more than 100 million internet users. Worldwide internet usage As of October 2024, there were more than five billion internet users worldwide. There are, however, stark differences in user distribution according to region. Eastern Asia is home to 1.34 billion internet users, while African and Middle Eastern regions had lower user figures. Moreover, the urban areas showed a higher percentage of internet access than rural areas. Internet use in China China ranks first in the list of countries with the most internet users. Due to its ongoing and fast-paced economic development and a cultural inclination towards technology, more than a billion of the estimated 1.4 billion population in China are online. As of the third quarter of 2023, around 87 percent of Chinese internet users stated using WeChat, the most popular social network in the country. On average, Chinese internet users spent five hours and 33 minutes online daily.