Frequently Asked Questions

What is the OECD?
The OECD groups 30 member countries sharing a commitment to democratic government and market economy in a unique forum to discuss, develop and refine economic and social policies. They compare experiences, seek answers to common problems and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies to help members and non-members deal with an increasingly globalised world. Their exchanges may lead to agreements to act in a formal way, for example by establishing legally binding agreements to crack down on bribery, or codes for free flow of capital and services. Together, they produce around two thirds of the world's goods and services.
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What is the history of the OECD?
The OECD grew out of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which was formed to administer American and Canadian aid under the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Since it took over from the OEEC in 1961, the OECD's membership has expanded across the globe. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the OECD helped Central and Eastern European countries to develop market economies. It also has cooperation programmes with a range of other countries, including Russia, China and Brazil.
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Which countries are members of the OECD?
The 30 member countries of the OECD are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States. The European Communities participate in OECD work. The OECD also has working relationships with more than 70 other economies.
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How does the OECD interact with the rest of the world?
Over time the OECD's focus has broadened to include extensive contacts with non-member economies and it now maintains co-operative relations with more than 70 of them. Through such contacts, the OECD aims to make its members' experience available to other countries and at the same time to profit from the insights and perspectives of non-members. In 1998, a new Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members was created to co-ordinate activities concerning non-members.
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How does a country become a member of the OECD?
In contrast to many other international organisations, becoming a member of the OECD is not an automatic process. The member countries of the Organisation decide whether a country should be invited to join the OECD and on what conditions. There are no specific formal criteria for membership, other than a commitment to a market economy and a pluralistic democracy, nor are there any guarantees that an accession procedure will be successful. For example, if a country were to change its position during the examination process, perhaps by retreating from an open-market economy or backtracking on progress achieved on the democratic front, its membership prospects would diminish.
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How is the OECD funded?
The OECD is funded by its member countries. National contributions to the annual budget are based on a formula related to the size of each member's economy. The largest contributor is the United States, which provides 25% of the budget, followed by Japan. With the approval of the Council, countries may also make separate contributions to particular programmes or projects. The size of the annual budget and the programme of work that is to be financed by it are decided by member countries in OECD's governing body, the Council.

How does the OECD communicate with the public?
The OECD has undertaken close consultations and dialogue with civil society since its creation in 1961. For many years, this was primarily with business and labour organisations through the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC). Over the past decade, however, the OECD has extended its dialogue and consultations to a broader range of stakeholders, including environmental and consumer organisations and other representatives of civil society. The OECD produces more than 250 publications a year. Lined up next to each other on a bookshelf, all the books produced by the OECD within a year would take up 18,000 metres of shelf-space.

How does one get a job at the OECD?
To work at the OECD you have to be a citizen of one of its member countries. There are no quotas for national representation: staff come from all 30 member countries, with France, the host country, providing the largest share of employees, at 20%, followed by the U.S. (16%), the U.K. (10.5%) and Canada (7%). In 2001, the OECD employed a total of 2,273 people, including 1,654 "regular" staff, 274 project staff and 8 senior-level "unclassified" staff, as well as 337 "temporary" staff (114 consultants, 57 trainees and 166 auxiliaries). Most of them are located at the OECD's headquarters in Paris, but the OECD also has Centres in Berlin, Washington, Tokyo and Mexico.
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How can I access the protected website for journalists?
This password-protected web site gives journalists access to some OECD publications. You need to be an accredited journalist to register. If you wish to request registration, send a message with your full details including the news organisation you work for and details of your press card, if any, to news.contact@oecd.org. Your application will be reviewed by the OECD's Media Relation Division and if you are eligible you will be sent a password. You may also wish to be registered in our database of journalists to receive news releases and other information by e-mail. Please let us know which areas of the OECD's work are of interest to you.

How can I track down specific OECD data or statistics?
To obtain widely used OECD such as GDP figures, Standardised Unemployment Rates, Composite Leading Indicators, you can go to Frequently Requested Statistics . You can also access the OECD's Databases through our SourceOECD service, for which journalists can obtain a password on request to news.contact@oecd.org.