Which BRICS country has the longest coastline?

Correct — A. Russia fronts the Arctic Ocean along its whole northern edge and the Pacific in the east, with shorter Baltic and Black Sea stretches.

The CIA World Factbook gives it 37,653 km of coastline, against 14,500 km for China, 7,491 km for Brazil and 2,798 km for South Africa. The World Resources Institute's finer measure also puts Russia first of the four → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Brazil — Brazil's long Atlantic coast measures 7,491 km in the Factbook, about a fifth of Russia's. On WRI's finer measure it is 33,379 km against Russia's 110,310 km.
• (c)
  China — China's coastline measures 14,500 km in the CIA World Factbook, well under half of Russia's 37,653 km. A long coast is not the longest.
• (d)
  South Africa — South Africa has the shortest coast of the four options, 2,798 km in the Factbook, along the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Coastline length depends on the scale of measurement, which is why sources disagree. The Factbook gives Russia 37,653 km, while the World Resources Institute, measuring in finer detail, gives 110,310 km.

Russia comes first of the four on both datasets. Its advantage is the Arctic coast along its whole northern edge, plus a Pacific seaboard in the Far East.

Key facts

• CIA World Factbook coastlines: Russia 37,653 km, China 14,500 km, Brazil 7,491 km, South Africa 2,798 km.
• The World Resources Institute's finer measure gives Russia 110,310 km, still first of these four.
• Indonesia became a full BRICS member in January 2025, and its Factbook coastline of 54,716 km is longer than Russia's.

Common traps

• Picturing Russia as a land power and overlooking the Arctic coast that runs along its whole northern edge.
• Treating one coastline figure as fixed — the Factbook and WRI differ, and they rank Indonesia and Russia differently.

No directly related past PYQ was found.