G20

Background and evolution

The financial crises of the late 1990s showed that the G7 group of advanced economies could no longer manage global economic problems alone, because emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and Indonesia were becoming important to global stability. In 1999, the G7 finance ministers proposed a wider forum that included these economies. For nearly a decade, the G20 met at the level of finance ministers and central bank governors.

The 2008 global financial crisis transformed it. Leaders met for the first time in Washington in November 2008, and at the Pittsburgh summit of 2009 they designated the G20 the "premier forum for international economic cooperation". Its coordinated stimulus, reform of financial regulation through the Financial Stability Board, and push for IMF reform gave it a central place in global governance.

Key features and provisions

• Two tracks: the Finance Track (finance ministers and central bank governors) and the Sherpa Track (leaders' personal representatives dealing with issues like development, climate, health, energy and digital economy).
• Engagement groups: forums of business (B20), youth (Y20), civil society (C20), think tanks (T20), women (W20) and others.
• Consensus: decisions are taken by consensus and are not legally binding; implementation depends on members.
• Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the EU and AU.
• Weight: members account for roughly 85 per cent of world GDP and about two-thirds of the world's population.