What is the OECD?
- Established in 1961
- Headquartered in Paris
- 38 member countries
- Annual budget of EUR 377 million
- Secretariat staff 3'300
- 250 publications per year
- 62% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (2020)
- 58% of world trade (2020)
- 18% of the world population (2020)
- 95% of global public development assistance (2020)
- 35% of global CO2 emissions (2018)
What does the OECD do?
The mission of the OECD is to help its member countries to:
- Support sustainable economic growth
- Boost employment
- Raise living standards
- Maintain financial stability
- Assist other countries' economic development
- Contribute to growth in world trade
How does the OECD work?
The governments of member countries meet regularly in committees to :
- Compare experiences ("peer reviews")
- Seek solutions to common problems
- Identify good practices
- Develop international standards
- Coordinate their national and international policies
The OECD and its secretariat collect data, analyse and forecast economic and social trends and developments.
What benefits does the OECD offer Switzerland?
- International platform for advocating Switzerland's interests
- Opportunity to be involved in defining international standards
- Peer learning
- Arguments for structural reforms which are necessary but politically difficult
- Areas of particular interest: investment, competition, tax, development, health and innovation
The future of the OECD
- New momentum with new General Secretary Matthias Cormann: achieving a strong, resilient, environmentally friendly and inclusive recovery from COVID19
- Vision for the next decade: reaffirming the shared values of a like-minded community committed to the preservation of individual liberty, the values of democracy, the rule of law and the defence of human rights, based on an open, trading, competitive, sustainable and transparent market economy
- Accession process: Applications from Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania under discussion
- Increased cooperation with emerging countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa
Last modification 06.12.2021
