Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

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The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of thirty countries. Member countries of OECD accept a democratic system of governments. They also accept the principle of free economy. A country is having a free economy, when its government does not control the economic activities of its citizens and companies. OECD had originated in 1948 as the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC). The Second World War had just ended three years before in 1945. Some countries of Europe came together to form OEEC to make easy re-building of industry and other things destroyed in the Second World War. Later on, some non-European countries also joined this organization. In 1960, OEEC changed its name, and it became OECD: the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris.

At present, OECD has thirty countries as its members. Twenty countries became members of OECD in 1960. These countries are:

  1. Austria
  2. Belgium
  3. Canada
  4. Denmark
  5. France
  6. Germany
  7. Greece
  8. Iceland
  9. Ireland
  10. Italy
  11. Luxembourg
  12. Netherlands
  13. Norway
  14. Portugal
  15. Spain
  16. Sweden
  17. Switzerland
  18. Turkey
  19. United Kingdom
  20. United States


10 countries joined OECD after 1960. The names of these countries (with the year of joining within brackets), are:

  1. Japan (1964)
  2. Finland (1969)
  3. Australia (1971)
  4. New Zealand (1973)
  5. Mexico (1994)
  6. Czech Republic (1995)
  7. Hungary (1996)
  8. South Korea (1996)
  9. Poland(1996)
  10. Slovakia (2000)