Which of the following countries is not a member of the BRICS association of major emerging economies?

Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to international organisations and groups of countries. BRICS is a well known association of major emerging economies that often appears in current affairs and general knowledge questions. To answer correctly, candidates must recall the expansion and membership of BRICS and identify which country among the given options does not belong to this group.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question is about the BRICS association.
• Options list Brazil, Russia, Iceland, China and South Africa.
• We assume that the standard BRICS members are known: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• India is not listed among the options, so the task is to spot the outsider country.

Concept / Approach:
BRICS originally began as BRIC, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and later included South Africa. It is an informal grouping focused on economic cooperation, development banks and political dialogue. The key is to remember all five official members and then identify the country in the options that is not on that list. Iceland, a small Nordic country, is clearly not a BRICS member.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: List the full BRICS members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Step 2: Compare this list with the answer options. Step 3: Brazil appears as option A and is a founding BRIC member. Step 4: Russia appears as option B and is also a founding member. Step 5: China appears as option D and is a major BRICS member. Step 6: South Africa appears only in option E and is the fifth BRICS member. Step 7: Iceland does not appear in the BRICS list and is therefore the country that is not a member.

Verification / Alternative check:
Documents on BRICS summits and the New Development Bank always mention the same five member countries. Iceland is geographically a small island nation in the North Atlantic, often associated with Nordic cooperation and the European region rather than emerging economy groupings. This geographical and economic context makes it unlikely to be a BRICS member and confirms that it is the odd one out in the list.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (Brazil) is wrong because Brazil is a founding BRIC country and a core member of BRICS.
Option B (Russia) is incorrect; Russia is also a founding BRIC member and remains part of BRICS.
Option D (China) is wrong, as China is one of the largest and most influential BRICS economies.
Option E (South Africa) is also incorrect because South Africa joined later to expand BRIC into BRICS, where S stands for South Africa.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates may confuse BRICS with other groupings such as G20 or OECD and may not maintain a clear mental list of members. Another mistake is to overthink and assume that perhaps some new country joined BRICS recently. For exam purposes, it is safer to memorise the five BRICS countries and periodically update knowledge using recent current affairs, but Iceland has never been part of this group.

Final Answer:
The country that is not a member of the BRICS association is Iceland.