Cooperatives Worldwide: The Numbers

United Nations Global Census on Co-operatives (2014) showed that:

• ‘Overall there are 2.6 Million Cooperatives which have over 1 Billion memberships and clients.

• Their combined asset base is US$19.6 trillion.

• The global cooperative economy is larger than France’s economy and places right behind Germany’s economy as the 5th largest economic unit if it were a united country.

• Cooperatives employ 12.6 Million Employees, roughly 0.2% of the world’s population (not including data from the 982,400 agricultural cooperatives in China).

• US$20 Trillion in Cooperative Assets generate US$3 trillion in Annual Revenue.

• Cooperative economic activity comprises 20% of the Gross Domestic Product in  New Zealand, 18% in The Netherlands, 18% in France and 14% in Finland.

• 1 in every 6 people on average in the world has membership, or is a client of a Cooperative.’

• ‘Worldwide, cooperatives are the second biggest banking network, serving 870 million people. 45 per cent of their branches are in rural areas, compared with an average of 26 per cent for all banks’ (Birchall, 2013: 49).

 
UK Cooperatives: The Numbers 

• There are 5,450 co-operative enterprises in the UK.

• Turnover of the UK co-operative sector is £33 billion pa. 

• These enterprises are owned by 12.8 million members.

• There are more member owners of Co-operatives than individual shareholders investing in the stock market.’ (Cooperatives UK, 2012).

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