In 2001 Goldman Sachs coined the term BRIC and argued that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China is such that they may become among the four most dominant economies by the year 2050. These countries encompass over 25% of the world's land coverage and 40% of the world's population and hold a combined GDP (purchasing power parity) of 15.435 trillion dollars. On almost every scale, they would be the largest entity on the global stage. As the South American member of BRIC, Brazil has done remarkably well to weather the recent financial turmoil and credit crunch and is certainly doing its part to realize Goldman Sachs’ vision.