Group of Twenty (G20)

The Group of Twenty, or G20, is an informal forum where the world's major economies coordinate on international economic issues. It comprises 19 countries, the European Union and the African Union, and functions as the premier forum for international economic cooperation. Its outcomes are consensus-based political commitments rather than legally binding decisions.

Evolution and institutional structure

Created in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis, the G20 initially brought together finance ministers and central bank governors. It was elevated to the leaders' level in 2008 during the global financial crisis and designated the premier forum for international economic cooperation at the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit.

• Its annually rotating presidency sets the agenda with the Troika, comprising the previous, current and incoming presidencies.
• Work proceeds mainly through the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track, supported by ministerial meetings, working groups and international organisations.

Channels of economic cooperation

The G20 provides political direction and facilitates coordination rather than making legally binding rules.

• It promotes macroeconomic policy coordination and collective responses to financial and economic crises.
• It supports financial stability and regulatory cooperation through institutions such as the Financial Stability Board.
• It gives political impetus to reform of the International Monetary Fund, development financing, sovereign debt cooperation and international taxation.
• Its agenda also covers trade, infrastructure, technology, employment, health, food and energy security, sustainable finance and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Importance and limitations

Members account for about 85 percent of global GDP, over 75 percent of global trade and around two-thirds of the world's population. The forum therefore connects major advanced and emerging economies whose policy choices strongly affect global stability.

• The inclusion of the African Union in 2023, alongside the European Union and 19 countries, widened representation of developing economies.
• Consensus-based and non-binding outcomes encourage participation, but geopolitical rivalry can weaken commitments and implementation.
• The rotating presidency and absence of a permanent secretariat make continuity dependent on successive presidencies.