Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, commonly known as the OECD, is an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Paris. It brings together countries that cooperate on economic, social, environmental and institutional policy, while also working with non-member economies and international organisations. The OECD does not operate as a commercial company or sell consumer products; its principal outputs are internationally comparable statistics, economic assessments, policy reviews, analytical models, recommendations and negotiated standards. The organisation was established in 1961 as the successor to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which had administered European recovery cooperation after the Second World War. Its founding mandate broadened that earlier European focus into a wider programme for economic growth, employment, rising living standards, financial stability and the expansion of world trade. Over time, the OECD’s work expanded well beyond macroeconomics. Its policy areas now include taxation, trade, education, skills, labour markets, competition, corporate governance, digital policy, artificial intelligence, public integrity, development, health, migration, pensions, regional development and climate and environmental policy. The OECD’s influence comes primarily from evidence, peer review and coordination rather than legally binding supranational authority. It collects and standardises data, compares national performance, convenes government experts and supports member and partner governments through country studies and thematic reviews. Its recommendations and standards can shape domestic legislation, administrative practice and international agreements, although implementation remains the responsibility of participating jurisdictions. Among its best-known outputs are the OECD Economic Outlook, country economic surveys, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD Data platform, the Better Life Index and extensive taxation and environmental indicators. The organisation has also played a major role in international tax cooperation, including the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and the two-pillar approach to reforming international tax rules for large multinational enterprises. The OECD has 38 member countries. Membership has expanded from its original group of mainly Western European and North American economies to include countries in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. It also maintains accession discussions, partnership programmes and regional initiatives with many non-member economies. The organisation is financed by member contributions and operates through councils, committees, expert groups and a permanent secretariat led by the Secretary-General. Its role is often described as that of a global forum and standard-setter for evidence-based public policy rather than a traditional international financial institution.

The OECD’s institutional predecessor was the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, created in 1948 to administer cooperation under the European Recovery Program, commonly associated with the Marshall Plan. The OEEC helped coordinate the distribution and use of postwar American assistance, encouraged European trade and payments cooperation, and provided a framework for economic reconstruction. As European recovery progressed, governments began considering a permanent organisation with a broader geographic and policy mandate. The Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was signed in Paris in December 1960, and the OECD formally came into being in September 1961. Its founding members included the OEEC countries together with the United States and Canada. The new organisation retained the earlier institution’s emphasis on economic cooperation but defined a wider purpose: promoting sustainable economic growth, employment, rising living standards, financial stability and the expansion of world trade on a non-discriminatory basis. During the Cold War and the decades that followed, the OECD became a forum in which governments compared economic performance and coordinated policy approaches. Its committees developed comparative work on macroeconomic management, industrial policy, trade, development assistance, labour markets, education and taxation. The organisation’s peer-review process became a central operating method: national experts examine another country’s policies, the secretariat provides analysis and recommendations, and the findings are discussed by member governments. From the 1980s onward, the OECD increasingly addressed structural and social policy questions. It developed influential indicators and comparative studies on education, employment, ageing, health, public management and environmental performance. Its education work later became globally prominent through PISA, first conducted in 2000. PISA established a recurring international comparison of the reading, mathematics and science skills of 15-year-old students, giving the OECD a significant role in debates about school quality and education reform. The end of the Cold War accelerated the OECD’s engagement with Central and Eastern Europe and other emerging economies. The organisation supported transition-related reviews, expanded its dialogue with non-members and admitted additional countries from Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Although membership remained selective, the OECD developed global and regional programmes that enabled non-member economies to participate in committees, standards work and policy initiatives. Taxation became one of the OECD’s most consequential areas of international work. The organisation maintained the OECD Model Tax Convention and transfer-pricing guidance, and later coordinated the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. In the 2010s, the OECD and G20 launched the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project in response to concerns that multinational enterprises could exploit gaps and mismatches between national tax systems. The resulting measures influenced domestic tax rules and international tax administration. Subsequent negotiations produced a two-pillar framework addressing the allocation of taxing rights and a global minimum effective tax rate for covered multinational groups. The organisation has also developed standards and recommendations on corporate governance, responsible business conduct, public integrity, competition, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, environmental policy and development finance. These instruments vary in legal status: some are binding on participating countries, while others are recommendations, guidelines or voluntary frameworks. Their practical importance often comes from adoption through national law, peer review, reporting and international coordination. Leadership has been provided by successive Secretaries-General, including Emiel van Lennep, Jean-Claude Paye, Donald Johnston, Angel Gurría and Mathias Cormann. The Secretary-General chairs the OECD Council and leads the permanent secretariat, while member governments retain ultimate authority through the Council. In the present period, the OECD combines its traditional economic surveillance role with work on climate transition, resilience, productivity, inequality, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, education, demographic change and the implementation of international tax agreements.

• 2025

  Croatia joins the OECD

  [8]Croatia joins the OECDoecd.org

  Croatia completed accession and became the organisation’s 38th member.

• 2021

  International tax agreement announced

  [6]OECD work on Base Erosion and Profit Shiftingoecd.org

  A large group of jurisdictions agreed to the OECD/G20 two-pillar framework for international tax reform, covering taxing rights and a global minimum tax approach.

• 2021

  Mathias Cormann becomes Secretary-General

  [2]OECD Secretary-Generaloecd.org

  Mathias Cormann took office as Secretary-General, succeeding Angel Gurría.

• 2015

  BEPS package delivered

  [6]OECD work on Base Erosion and Profit Shiftingoecd.org

  The OECD and G20 delivered the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting package, proposing coordinated measures against tax-base erosion and profit shifting.

• 2000

  First PISA assessment

  [5]OECD Programme for International Student Assessmentoecd.org

  The OECD conducted the first Programme for International Student Assessment, creating a recurring international comparison of student performance.

• 1961

  OECD comes into force

  [1]OECD historyoecd.org

  The OECD formally began operations as the successor to the OEEC, with the United States and Canada among its founding members.

• 1960

  OECD Convention signed

  [1]OECD historyoecd.org

  Governments signed the convention establishing a successor organisation with a broader transatlantic and international economic mandate.

• 1948

  OEEC established

  [1]OECD historyoecd.org

  The Organisation for European Economic Co-operation was created to coordinate European recovery cooperation and the use of Marshall Plan assistance.

Global forum and standard-setter for evidence-based economic, social and environmental policymaking.

• Economic analysis and forecasting

  OECD Economic Outlook

  A recurring publication assessing global and national economic conditions, including growth, inflation, employment, trade, public finance and key downside risks. It combines comparative data with country and regional analysis and is used by governments, researchers, financial institutions and media as a reference for policy discussion.

• Education assessment · 2000

  Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

  An international assessment of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students. PISA evaluates reading, mathematics and science, with rotating emphasis across domains and additional questionnaires on student and school contexts. Its results support comparative education research and national debates about curriculum, equity and school performance.

• Statistical database

  OECD Data

  The OECD’s online statistical resources provide internationally comparable indicators across areas such as national accounts, labour markets, education, health, trade, taxation, environment and development. The data infrastructure supports research, policy monitoring, country comparison and the organisation’s recurring publications and reviews.

• Well-being indicator · 2011

  Better Life Index

  An interactive framework for comparing well-being across countries using dimensions that extend beyond conventional economic output. It presents indicators relating to housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.

• International tax standards

  OECD Tax Standards and Policy Work

  A broad body of model conventions, guidance, statistics and coordinated initiatives covering cross-border taxation, transfer pricing, tax transparency, harmful tax practices and the taxation of multinational enterprises. This work includes the BEPS project and subsequent implementation frameworks developed with the G20 and participating jurisdictions.

• 2021Two-Pillar international tax reform

  Global

  The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework coordinated negotiations to revise the allocation of taxing rights for some large multinational enterprises and establish a global minimum tax framework for covered groups.

  Outcome. Participating jurisdictions reached a political agreement and continued work on the multilateral instruments, model rules and domestic implementation needed to put the framework into effect.

  Source
• 2015Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project

  Global

  The OECD and G20 coordinated a package of measures intended to reduce opportunities for multinational enterprises to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions or exploit gaps between national tax rules.

  Outcome. The project produced agreed actions, reporting standards and implementation monitoring that influenced domestic legislation and international tax administration.

  Source

• 2021

  Agree the two-pillar tax frameworkStrategy

  Background

  Digitalisation and the globalisation of business intensified disputes over where large multinational enterprises should be taxed and whether tax competition could produce very low effective rates.

  Action taken

  The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework announced a two-pillar approach addressing reallocations of taxing rights and a global minimum effective tax rate for covered multinational groups.

  Aftermath

  The agreement led to further model rules, a multilateral convention process and domestic legislative activity across participating jurisdictions, although implementation has remained complex.

  Source

• 2015

  Deliver the BEPS action packageStrategy

  Background

  Governments raised concerns that gaps in international tax rules enabled tax-base erosion, profit shifting and outcomes viewed as disconnected from underlying economic activity.

  Action taken

  The OECD, working with the G20, delivered coordinated actions covering transfer pricing, country-by-country reporting, treaty abuse, harmful tax practices and other areas.

  Aftermath

  The package became the foundation for continuing implementation, peer review and later negotiations on a two-pillar reform of international taxation.

  Source

• 2000

  Launch the PISA assessment programmeProduct launch

  Background

  Governments sought internationally comparable evidence about whether students were acquiring practical knowledge and skills, rather than relying only on national examinations.

  Action taken

  The OECD began administering PISA to assess 15-year-old students across participating education systems.

  Aftermath

  PISA became one of the OECD’s most recognisable outputs and a major source of comparative evidence in education policy debates.

  Source

• 1960

  Create a broader successor to the OEECStrategy

  Background

  European recovery cooperation had developed beyond the immediate administration of postwar aid, creating demand for a permanent organisation with a wider economic and transatlantic mandate.

  Action taken

  Governments signed the OECD Convention and established an organisation focused on long-term economic cooperation, policy comparison and trade expansion.

  Aftermath

  The OECD became a standing forum for economic surveillance, peer review, statistics and policy coordination among advanced economies and later a growing group of partner countries.

  Source

1. 1OECD historyoecd.org
2. 2OECD Secretary-Generaloecd.org
3. 3OECD member countriesoecd.org
4. 4OECD Economic Outlookoecd.org
5. 5OECD Programme for International Student Assessmentoecd.org
6. 6OECD work on Base Erosion and Profit Shiftingoecd.org
7. 7OECD official websiteoecd.org
8. 8Croatia joins the OECDoecd.org