OECD Countries

THE ORGANIZATION FOR Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) emerged from the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was established in 1947 with support from the United States and Canada to coordinate the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Created as an economic counterpart to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the OECD took over from the OEEC in 1961.

The mission of OECD is to help governments achieve sustainable economic growth and employment and rising standards of living in member countries while maintaining financial stability, thus contributing to the development of the world economy. The founding convention calls on the OECD to assist sound economic expansion in member countries and other countries in the process of economic development, and to contribute to growth in world trade on a multilateral, nondiscriminatory basis. Since its inception, the OECD emphasis has been to build economies in its member countries, improve efficiency, foster market systems, expand free trade, and contribute to development in industrialized and developing countries.

Becoming a member of the OECD is not an automatic process. The member countries through the Council of the Organization decide whether a particular country should be invited to join the OECD and on what conditions. This decision is made at the end of the so-called accession process.

The OECD consists of 30 member countries. Twenty countries originally signed the convention on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on December 14, 1960. Since then a further 10 countries have become members of the organization. The member countries of the organization are: Australia (June 7, 1971), Austria (September 29, 1961), Belgium (September 13, 1961), Canada (April 10, 1961), Czech Republic (December 21, 1995), Denmark (May 30, 1961), Finland (January 28, 1969), France (August 7, 1961), Germany (September 27, 1961), Greece (September 27, 1961), Hungary (May 7, 1996), Iceland (June 5, 1961), Ireland (August 17, 1961), Italy (March 29, 1962), Japan (April 28, 1964), Korea (December 12, 1996), Luxembourg (December 7,1961), Mexico (May 18, 1994), Netherlands (November 13, 1961), New Zealand (May 29, 1973), Norway (July 4, 1961), Poland (November 22, 1996), Portugal (August 4, 1961), Slovak Republic (December 14, 2000), Spain (August 3, 1961), Sweden (September [Page 794]28, 1961), Switzerland (September 28, 1961), Turkey (August 2, 1961), United Kingdom (May 2, 1961), and the United States (April 12, 1961).

The OECD provides a framework for governments to compare their policies, identify and seek solutions to common challenges, and coordinate domestic and international policies. It helps governments to foster prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth, financial stability, trade and investment, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and development cooperation.

The OECD secretariat, headed by the secretary general, is located at the Château de la Muette in Paris. The OECD secretariat provides a regular flow of information to governments of member countries. The secretariat collects data, monitors trends, and analyzes and forecasts economic developments. It also researches social changes or evolving patterns in trade, environment, agriculture, technology, taxation, and other areas. The secretary general also chairs the council, providing the link between national delegations and the secretariat.

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