History of OECD in Timeline

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1961 with 38 member countries. It serves as a forum for countries committed to democracy and market economies to collaborate on economic and social progress, compare policy experiences, address shared challenges, identify best practices, and coordinate both domestic and international policies. The OECD's primary goal is to stimulate economic progress and world trade among its member nations.

1947: OECD Library & Archives Collection Dates From 1947

The OECD Library & Archives collection dates from 1947, including records from the Committee for European Economic Co-operation (CEEC) and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), predecessors of today's OECD.

April 1948: Establishment of the OEEC

In April 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) was established among the European recipients of Marshall Plan aid for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.

1952: OEEC Focuses on Economic Issues

Following the end of Marshall aid in 1952, the OEEC shifted its focus to addressing economic issues.

1954: Free Territory of Trieste merged with Italy

In 1954, the Free Territory of Trieste (Zone A) merged with Italy and ceased to exist as an independent territorial entity, ending its membership in the OEEC.

1955: René Sergent becomes Secretary-General of the OEEC

In 1955, René Sergent became the Secretary-General of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), succeeding Robert Marjolin.

1957: Challenges to OEEC's Coordinating Role

In 1957, the OEEC's coordinating role faced challenges after the Rome Treaties established the European Economic Community and Euratom.

1958: Establishment of the European Nuclear Energy Agency

In 1958, the European Nuclear Energy Agency was established within the OEEC in response to Euratom.

January 1960: Meetings to Reconstitute the OEEC

Beginning in January 1960, meetings were held at the Hotel Majestic in Paris to discuss reconstituting the OEEC into a more global organization.

December 1960: Convention on the OECD Signed

On 14 December 1960, the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was signed.

1960: René Sergent's term as Secretary-General of the OEEC ends

In 1960, René Sergent's term as Secretary-General of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) came to an end.

September 1961: OECD Officially Supersedes the OEEC

In September 1961, the OECD officially superseded the OEEC, consisting of the European founder countries of the OEEC, with the additions of the United States and Canada.

1961: OECD Development Centre Established

In 1961, the OECD Development Centre was created.

1961: OECD Founded

In 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was founded with 38 member countries to stimulate economic progress and world trade.

1962: Launch of OECD Observer Magazine

In 1962, the OECD Observer, an award-winning magazine, was launched.

1964: Japan Joins the OECD

In 1964, Japan became a member of the OECD.

1974: International Energy Agency (IEA) Established

In 1974, the International Energy Agency (IEA) was created by the OECD.

1989: OECD Assists Central European Countries

Following the Revolutions of 1989, the OECD began assisting countries in Central Europe to prepare for market economy reforms.

October 1990: East Germany Joins Through Reunification

On 3 October 1990, East Germany joined the OECD through reunification with West Germany.

1990: Centre for Co-operation with European Economies in Transition Established

In 1990, the Centre for Co-operation with European Economies in Transition was established by the OECD.

1991: "Partners in Transition" Programme Launched

In 1991, the OECD launched the "Partners in Transition" program to offer a partnership to Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland.

1992: Kumiharu Shigehara Appointed as OECD Chief Economist

In 1992, Kumiharu Shigehara was appointed as the OECD Chief Economist and Head of Economics Department.

1995: Cyprus Applies for OECD Membership

In 1995, Cyprus applied for membership to the OECD, but was reportedly vetoed by Turkey.

1995: Publication of Transfer Pricing Guidelines

Since 1995, the OECD has published and updated the Transfer Pricing Guidelines, which serve as a template for the profit allocation of inter-company transactions to countries.

1996: Donald Johnston Becomes OECD Secretary-General

In 1996, Donald Johnston became the OECD Secretary-General.

1996: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Express Willingness to Join OECD

In 1996, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania signed a Joint Declaration expressing their willingness to become members of the OECD; Slovenia also applied for membership that year.

1996: Multilateral Surveillance Publication

In 1996, Kumiharu Shigehara published "Multilateral Surveillance: What the OECD can offer?", a review of the OECD's multilateral surveillance.

1996: New Members Join OECD

In 1996, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Mexico became members of the OECD.

1997: Kumiharu Shigehara Appointed as OECD Deputy Secretary-General

In 1997, Kumiharu Shigehara was appointed as the OECD Deputy Secretary-General.

1997: Cost of OECD membership estimated

In 1997, former Deputy Secretary-General Pierre Vinde estimated that the cost borne by the member countries, such as sending their officials to OECD meetings and maintaining permanent delegations, is equivalent to the cost of running the secretariat.

1998: OECD iLibrary Access

Since 1998, all titles and databases published by the OECD can be accessed via OECD iLibrary.

1999: Kumiharu Shigehara's Term as OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ends

In 1999, Kumiharu Shigehara's term as OECD Deputy Secretary-General ended.

2000: Slovakia Joins OECD

In 2000, Slovakia became a member of the OECD.

May 2004: Recommendations Presented at OECD Ministerial Council Meeting

On 13 May 2004, recommendations from the working group, headed by ambassador Seiichiro Noboru, regarding the enlargement with non-members were presented at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.

2005: Malta Applies for OECD Membership

In 2005, Malta applied to join the OECD.

2006: Donald Johnston's Term as OECD Secretary-General Ends

In 2006, Donald Johnston's term as OECD Secretary-General ended.

May 2007: OECD opens accession negotiations with Russia

In May 2007, the OECD decided to open accession negotiations with Russia.

May 2007: OECD Opens Accession Discussions

On 16 May 2007, the OECD Ministerial Council decided to open accession discussions with Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia, and Slovenia.

March 2008: Publication of OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030

In March 2008, the OECD published the OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030, which argues that tackling key environmental problems is both achievable and affordable.

2010: Chile, Slovenia, Israel, and Estonia Join OECD

In 2010, Chile, Slovenia, Israel, and Estonia all became members of the OECD.

2010: OECD Observer transitions to quarterly publication

In 2010, the OECD Observer magazine transitioned from appearing six times a year to quarterly.

2011: Introduction of the OECD Yearbook

In 2011, the OECD Yearbook was introduced for the 50th anniversary of the organization.

September 2012: Bulgaria Confirms Application for OECD Membership

In September 2012, the government of Bulgaria confirmed it would apply for membership before the OECD Secretariat.

2013: OECD Opens Membership Talks with Colombia and Latvia

In 2013, the OECD decided to open membership talks with Colombia and Latvia.

2013: Introduction of OECD Observer Crossword

In Q2 2013, an OECD Observer Crossword was introduced in the OECD Observer magazine.

March 2014: OECD halts membership talks with Russia

In March 2014, the OECD halted membership talks with Russia in response to Russia's role in that year's Crimean annexation and continuous human and civil rights abuses.

July 2014: OECD Data Portal Publicly Released

In July 2014, the OECD publicly released its main statistical databases through the OECD Data Portal, an online platform.

2015: OECD Opens Talks with Costa Rica and Lithuania

In 2015, the Organisation opened talks with Costa Rica and Lithuania regarding membership.

July 2016: Latvia Becomes a Member of the OECD

On 1 July 2016, Latvia became a member of the OECD.

2017: OECD's Global GDP Contribution

As of 2017, OECD member countries collectively comprised 62.2% of global nominal GDP (USD 49.6 trillion) and 42.8% of global GDP (Int$54.2 trillion) at purchasing power parity.

May 2018: Colombia Signs Accession Agreement

On 30 May 2018, Colombia signed the accession agreement to become a member of the OECD.

July 2018: Lithuania Becomes a Member of the OECD

On 5 July 2018, Lithuania became a member of the OECD.

February 2019: Donald Johnston Notes Importance of Shigehara's Book

In his letter of 5 February 2019, Donald Johnston, OECD Secretary-General (1996–2006), noted that Kumiharu Shigehara's "book is very important for the OECD where there is little living institutional memory".

December 2019: Publication of "the Bank of Japan and the OECD: Recollections and Reflections"

In December 2019, Kumiharu Shigehara published his memoirs titled "the Bank of Japan and the OECD: Recollections and Reflections" in Japanese.

2019: Last Issue of OECD Observer Published

The OECD Observer was last issued in the fourth quarter of 2019, with a double edition looking ahead at artificial intelligence.

April 2020: Colombia Becomes a Member of the OECD

On 28 April 2020, Colombia officially became a member of the OECD.

May 2020: OECD Extends Invitation to Costa Rica

On 15 May 2020, the OECD decided to extend a formal invitation for Costa Rica to join the OECD.

2020: OECD Receives University Press Redux Sustainability Award

In 2020, the inaugural University Press Redux Sustainability Award was given to OECD for the development of the SDG Pathfinder, an open-access digital discovery tool.

January 2021: OECD Membership Inclusion of Dependent Territories

As of January 2021, the Dutch Caribbean and the British territories of Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, and Bermuda are included as part of the OECD memberships of the Netherlands and the U.K., respectively.

May 2021: Costa Rica Joins the OECD

On 25 May 2021, Costa Rica joined the OECD as a member.

2021: OECD Observer Website Closed

The OECD Observer website closed in the first quarter of 2021; the archive can be consulted at www.oecd.org.

January 2022: Membership Talks Underway

In January 2022, the OECD reported that membership talks were underway with Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania.

February 2022: OECD terminates accession process with Russia

On 25 February 2022, the OECD terminated the accession process with Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

March 2022: Belarus suspended from OECD participation

In March 2022, Belarus was suspended from any participation in the OECD.

March 2022: OECD Suspends Participation of Russia and Belarus

In March 2022, the OECD suspended the participation of Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

June 2022: Roadmaps for Accession Adopted

In June 2022, during the annual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, the Roadmaps for the Accession to the OECD Convention for Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania were adopted.

2023: OECD Revenues in 2023-2024

The OECD operated on a two-year budget determined by member countries with annual revenues over €900 million in 2023.

March 2024: Roadmaps for Accession Adopted with Argentina and Indonesia

In March 2024, the Roadmaps for the Accession to the OECD were adopted with Argentina and Indonesia.

July 2024: Transition to Open-Access Information Model

In July 2024, the OECD announced that it "has transitioned to [an] open-access information model" and that Creative Commons CC‑BY‑4.0 attribution licenses will be used on all data and publications.

July 2024: Roadmaps for Accession Adopted with Thailand

In July 2024, the Roadmaps for the Accession to the OECD were adopted with Thailand.

September 2024: Publication of The Bank of Japan, the OECD, and Beyond

In September 2024, the English edition of Kumiharu Shigehara's memoirs titled The Bank of Japan, the OECD, and Beyond was published by Palgrave Macmillan.

The Bank of Japan, the OECD, and Beyond: Reflections from a lifetime’s work

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2024: OECD Population and Life Expectancy

As of 2024, the collective population of OECD member countries is 1.38 billion people, with an average life expectancy of 80 years and a median age of 40.

2024: Assessed contributions to the Part I Budget in 2024

In 2024, assessed contributions to the "Part I Budget", totaling an estimated 229.9m EUR, were the largest single source of revenue for the OECD, based on the number of OECD members and the proportional size of their national economies.

2024: OECD Revenues in 2023-2024

The OECD operated on a two-year budget determined by member countries with annual revenues over €900 million in 2024.

June 2025: OECD Membership Count

As of June 2025, the OECD has 38 members.

Mentioned in this timeline

Ukraine is a large Eastern European nation second in size...

The United States of America is a federal republic located...

Colombia officially the Republic of Colombia is a country located...

Germany officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a Central...

World War II - was a global conflict between the...

Japan is an East Asian island country in the Pacific...