Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is the policy forum and statistical agency of the world's mostly high-income democracies. Founded in 1961 as the successor to the Marshall Plan's OEEC, the OECD's 38 member states share commitments to market-based economies and democratic government, and use the organisation as a peer-review and benchmarking platform.

At a glance

• Founded: 1961 (Convention on the OECD signed 14 December 1960; entered into force 30 September 1961, succeeding the OEEC of 1948)
• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Official languages: English, French
• Website: www.oecd.org

Mission

The OECD's mission is to promote policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. It does this through data collection and statistical analysis (the world's most-cited economic statistics agency), policy review (peer assessments of member countries), and standard-setting (international tax, anti-bribery, corporate governance, AI policy).

Structure

The Council, composed of permanent representatives in Paris, is the main decision-making body and meets weekly. Ministerial Council Meetings happen annually. The Secretariat under the Secretary-General handles day-to-day work. Specialised committees cover economic policy, education, environment, tax, and other domains. Decisions require consensus.

Member states

OECD has 38 member states. Membership current as of 2024-01.

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States

Key facts

• The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is the most widely-cited international comparison of educational achievement, ranking 15-year-olds in over 80 countries every three years.
• The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) led the 2021 agreement on a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax — one of the most consequential tax-policy shifts in decades.
• Russia's accession process, opened in 2007, was suspended in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea and formally terminated in 2022.
• Costa Rica became the most recent member in 2021; Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, and Romania are current candidate countries.
• The OECD operates under the principle "richer-club" by design: only countries committed to market-based democracy may join, and accession reviews can take a decade.

Historic milestones