History of OECD in Timeline

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OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1961. Comprising 38 member countries committed to democracy and market economies, the OECD serves as a forum for comparing policy experiences, addressing shared challenges, identifying best practices, and coordinating domestic and international policies. Its primary objective is to foster economic progress and global trade among its member nations through collaborative efforts and the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

1947: OECD Library and Archives Collection

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 European recipients of Marshall Plan aid to reconstruct Europe after World War II.

1952: OEEC Focus Shifts Post-Marshall Aid

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

1954: Free Territory of Trieste merges 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 Appointed Secretary-General

In 1955, René Sergent became the Secretary-General of the OEEC.

1957: Rome Treaties Challenge OEEC Coordination

In 1957, the Rome Treaties, which established the European Economic Community and Euratom, challenged the coordinating role of the OEEC.

1958: European Nuclear Energy Agency Established

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

January 1960: Meetings at Hotel Majestic Begin

In January 1960, meetings began at the Hotel Majestic in Paris to discuss adapting the OEEC to fulfil a more global mission.

December 1960: OECD Convention Signed

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

1960: René Sergent's tenure as Secretary-General ends

In 1960, René Sergent's tenure as Secretary-General of the OEEC ended.

September 1961: OECD Officially Supersedes OEEC

In September 1961, the OECD officially superseded the OEEC, consisting of the European founder countries of the OEEC, the United States, and Canada.

1961: OECD Development Centre Created

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: OECD Observer Launched

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

1964: Japan Becomes a Member

In 1964, Japan became a member of the OECD.

1974: International Energy Agency (IEA) Established

In 1974, the International Energy Agency (IEA) was established.

1989: OECD Assists Central European Countries

Following the Revolutions of 1989, the OECD began assisting countries in Central Europe to prepare 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 Established

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

1991: "Partners in Transition" Programme Launched

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

1992: Kumiharu Shigehara becomes Head of Economics Department

In 1992, Kumiharu Shigehara becomes OECD Chief Economist and Head of Economics Department.

1995: Cyprus Applies for Membership

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

1995: Transfer Pricing Guidelines Published

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

1996: Donald Johnston's tenure as OECD Secretary-General starts

In 1996, Donald Johnston's tenure as OECD Secretary-General starts.

1996: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Declare Interest

In 1996, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania signed a Joint Declaration expressing willingness to become members of the OECD.

1996: New Members Join OECD

In 1996, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic joined the OECD.

1996: Multilateral Surveillance Review

In 1996, the OECD's multilateral surveillance was systematically reviewed in Kumiharu Shigehara's "Multilateral Surveillance: What the OECD can offer?"

1997: Kumiharu Shigehara becomes Deputy Secretary-General

In 1997, Kumiharu Shigehara becomes OECD Deputy Secretary-General.

1997: Cost of Member Country Participation

In 1997, Pierre Vinde estimated that the cost borne by the member countries for participating in OECD activities is equivalent to the cost of running the secretariat.

1998: OECD iLibrary Access

Since 1998, all OECD titles and databases published are accessible via OECD iLibrary.

1999: Kumiharu Shigehara's tenure as Deputy Secretary-General ends

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

2000: More New Members Join OECD

In 2000, Slovakia, South Korea and Mexico became members of the OECD.

May 2004: Working Group Recommendations Presented

In May 2004, the working group's recommendations for OECD enlargement were presented at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.

2005: Malta Applies for Membership

In 2005, Malta applied to join the OECD.

2006: Donald Johnston's tenure as OECD Secretary-General ends

In 2006, Donald Johnston's tenure as OECD Secretary-General ends.

May 2007: OECD opens accession negotiations with Russia

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

May 2007: Accession Discussions Opened

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

March 2008: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030 Published

In March 2008, the OECD published the OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030.

2010: Chile, Slovenia, Israel, and Estonia Become Members

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

2010: OECD Observer Frequency Changes

In 2010, the OECD Observer appeared six times a year.

2011: OECD Yearbook Introduction

In 2011, the OECD Observer became quarterly with the introduction of the OECD Yearbook.

September 2012: Bulgaria Confirms Membership Application

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: OECD Observer Crossword Introduced

In Q2 2013, an OECD Observer Crossword was introduced.

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.

March 2014: Membership Talks with Russia Halted

In March 2014, the OECD halted membership talks with Russia in response to its role in the 2014 Annexation of Crimea.

July 2014: OECD Data Portal Released

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

2015: OECD Opens Talks with Costa Rica and Lithuania

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

July 2016: Latvia Becomes a Member

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

July 2017: Latest Version of Transfer Pricing Guidelines

In July 2017, the latest version of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines incorporates the Actions developed under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project initiated by the G20.

2017: OECD Global GDP Share in 2017

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 join the OECD.

July 2018: Lithuania Becomes a Member

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

February 2019: Donald Johnston Comments on Shigehara's Book

In a letter of 5 February 2019, Donald Johnston noted that Shigehara's "book is very important for the OECD where there is little living institutional memory".

December 2019: Shigehara's Memoirs Published in Japanese

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

2019: OECD Observer Last Issued

The OECD Observer was last issued in the fourth quarter of 2019.

April 2020: Colombia Becomes a Member

On 28 April 2020, Colombia 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: Sustainability Award Given to OECD

In 2020, the inaugural University Press Redux Sustainability Award was given to OECD for the development of the SDG Pathfinder.

January 2021: Dutch Caribbean and British territories included in OECD

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

May 2021: OECD Membership Count

As of May 2021, there are 38 members of the OECD.

May 2021: Costa Rica Joins as a Member

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

2021: OECD annual revenues

In 2021, the OECD operated on a two-year budget determined by member countries, with annual revenues over 700 million EUR during the 2021–2022 reporting period.

2021: OECD Observer Website Closed

In the first quarter of 2021, the OECD Observer website closed; 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: Participation of Russia and Belarus Suspended

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

June 2022: Accession Roadmaps Adopted for Several Countries

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.

2022: OECD annual revenues

In 2022, the OECD operated on a two-year budget determined by member countries, with annual revenues over 700 million EUR during the 2021–2022 reporting period.

March 2024: Accession Roadmaps 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 using Creative Commons CC‑BY‑4.0 attribution licenses.

July 2024: Accession Roadmaps Adopted with Thailand

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

September 2024: Shigehara's Memoirs Published in English

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

2024: OECD Member Demographics

As of 2024, OECD member countries collectively have a population of 1.38 billion people, an average life expectancy of 80 years, and a median age of 40.

2024: OECD Part I Budget

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

Mentioned in this timeline

Ukraine
Colombia
World War II
Belarus
Japan
Germany
Korea

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