Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
G20 - Statistics & Facts
The Group of Twenty, more commonly referred to as the G20, is a forum of the twenty world’s leading industrialized and emerging economies. G20 summits provide the world’s most important leaders with the opportunity to discuss the issues related to the global economy in an informal setting. The G20 was first established in 1999, in response to criticism that the Group of Seven (G7) was outdated and overly restrictive. Apart from Japan, no other country from outside of North America and Europe is a member of the G7. As such, the G20 seeks to recognize the role of emerging economies in the governance of global affairs.
G20 members
The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union as a regional governmental body. Together, these countries account for around 90 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). The data from the International Monetary Fund also suggests that the establishment of the G20 was justifiable, as the share of global GDP of the G20 countries is projected to grow over time, whereas that of the G7 is forecast to decrease.World leading economies
At present, the United States is the largest economy in the G20 in terms of GDP with 23 trillion U.S. dollars as of 2021. China, who has seen substantial economic growth over the past decades, had the second highest GDP. Given the vast differences in the population numbers of G20 countries, it is not surprising that the largest economies don’t necessarily have the highest per capita GDP rates.What did the establishment of the G20 bring?
Not only does the G20 cover a higher share of the world's economy, it also accounts for around two thirds of the world's total population, compared to only 10 percent in the G7 countries. Moreover, the founding of the summit to the G20 saw diversity in developmental experiences in addition to cultural, governmental, and geographic factors. While Germany received a score of 79 out of 100 in the most recent addition of the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, Mexico and Russia scored 31 and 28 respectively. The level of democracy also varies substantially in the member countries. Recently, an increasing diplomatic dispute between the Untied States and China has seen increasing disputes between the summit's two leading countries, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused substantial divisions between Russia and the countries backing Ukraine. These challenges highlight the increased difficulty of reaching a common agreement on a range of topics, but underlines the importance of G20 as a forum for continued discussions on global affairs.
