BRICS Services Trade 2026: Untapped Growth Potential

Global South EXPOHUB AI Analytics · 2026-09-04

Economic cooperation in BRICS+ services is drawing growing attention as global services trade hits record scale, while trade between BRICS members in finance, healthcare, education, tourism, logistics and professional services remains thin relative to individual members' weight in the sector. Context: Strong Individually, Thin Between Members World services exports surpassed USD 9.5 trillion in 2025, an 8% annual increase, pushing services to 27.5% of global trade — the highest share since 2005 (UNCTAD, WTO). Digitally deliverable services, which move over computer networks without ports or customs, reached roughly USD 5.4 trillion, growing around 10% — outpacing both overall services and goods trade. Individual BRICS+ members are genuine heavyweights in this market. China ranked the world's fourth-largest services exporter in 2025 at USD 511 billion. India's software and IT exports reached USD 204.7 billion in FY25, making it the dominant force in global IT outsourcing. Yet India's total services exports to BRICS partners were estimated at just USD 31.3 billion in 2024, with the US and Europe absorbing most of that trade instead. Key Numbers - World services exports reached USD 9.5 trillion in 2025, with services now 27.5% of global trade - Digitally deliverable services reached roughly USD 5.4 trillion in 2025, growing around 10%, outpacing overall services and goods trade - China ranked the world's fourth-largest services exporter in 2025, at USD 511 billion - India's software and IT exports reached USD 204.7 billion in FY25 (RBI) - India's services exports to BRICS partners totaled only about USD 31.3 billion in 2024 - Only Russia and China enforce hard data-localization among BRICS+ members; India's 2025 rules use a lighter, permissive approach not yet fully in force Deep Dive: The Same Gap, in a Sector Built for Cross-Border Trade Services trade should, in theory, be easier to internationalize than goods — much of it moves digitally, without ports, customs or shipping lanes. Yet the BRICS+ pattern echoes what shows up in merchandise trade: individual members are heavyweights in aggregate services exports, but comparatively little of that trade flows between them. Most of India's software exports, and a large share of China's services trade, still run to the US and Europe. Part of the barrier is regulatory divergence in financial services and healthcare, limited mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and restrictions on skilled-worker mobility. A further fault line runs through data governance. Russia has required domestic storage of citizens' personal data since 2015, and China's Personal Information Protection Law imposes similar hard localization unless regulators approve exceptions. India's approach differs: its 2025 rules permit cross-border transfers by default except to countries the government explicitly restricts, with those provisions not taking full effect until May 2027. Brazil's LGPD requires approved contractual safeguards for international transfers. This patchwork is itself a trade barrier: a fintech or cloud platform compliant in one BRICS+ market can face a very different compliance burden in the next. What This Means for Business For services exporters: IT, healthcare, education and financial-services firms built for global delivery have room to diversify into BRICS+ markets that remain underpenetrated, though local data-governance rules should be budgeted into market-entry plans. For investors: cross-border fintech, healthtech and edtech platforms stand to benefit from any move toward mutual recognition of standards, qualifications and data-transfer frameworks. For policymakers: skilled-worker mobility frameworks and interoperable data-governance rules are a more direct lever for services integration than growth in aggregate export volumes. Frequently Asked Questions How large is global services trade in 2025? World services exports reached USD 9.5 trillion in 2025, an 8% increase, with services accounting for 27.5% of global trade — the highest share since 2005. How strong are BRICS+ members individually in services exports? China ranked the world's fourth-largest services exporter in 2025 at USD 511 billion, while India's software and IT exports reached USD 204.7 billion in FY25, the largest in global IT outsourcing. How much of India's services trade goes to BRICS partners? India's software and IT exports reached USD 204.7 billion in FY25, but only about USD 31.3 billion of its total services exports went to BRICS partners in 2024. Do BRICS+ members share the same approach to data governance? No. Russia and China enforce hard data-localization, while India's 2025 rules use a lighter, permissive model not yet fully in force, and Brazil's LGPD relies on approved contractual safeguards for transfers abroad. Related Content For the broader picture of India's chairship, see our pillar brief on BRICS 2026 India: Economic Power & the 18th Summit. For trade barriers in goods, see Intra-BRICS Trade: Barriers & Integration Challenges. Event details and the full agenda are on our BRICS Business Forum India 2026 page.

Context event: BRICS Business Forum

Information and Communication Technology · India · BRICS · SCO