OECD Membership Timeline by Year (1961~2021)
Year of Accession # of Members Member Countries
1961 (Founding) 18 Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States
1962 1 Italy
1964 1 Japan
1969 1 Finland
1971 1 Australia
1973 1 New Zealand
1994 1 Mexico
1995 1 Czechia
1996 3 Hungary, South Korea, Poland
2000 1 Slovak Republic
2010 4 Chile, Estonia, Israel, Slovenia
2016 1 Latvia
2018 1 Lithuania
2020 1 Colombia
2021 1 Costa Rica
In Accession 8 Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Indonesia, Peru, Romania, Thailand
History of the OECD
1. Founding Background
Established September 30, 1961 (Headquarters: Paris, France)
Predecessor: OEEC (Organization for European Economic Cooperation, 1948-1961)
→ Created to administer the Marshall Plan for post-WWII recovery
Mission: Promote economic growth, trade liberalization, and global development
2. Expansion Timeline
1960s: Euro-Atlantic core (20 founding members)
1990s: Post-Cold War enlargement (Czechia, Poland, etc.)
→ Transition economies joining market-oriented systems
2000s-Present: Globalization push (Chile, Israel, Colombia)
2020s: Expanding to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia in accession)
3. Key Functions
Policy Coordination: Tax systems, labor regulations, etc.
Global Standards:
Unified economic indicators (GDP, inflation)
Administers PISA (Program for International Student Assessment)
Non-Member Support: Policy consultations for developing nations
4. South Korea's Accession (1996)
December 12, 1996: 29th member state
Significance: 3rd Asian member (after Japan/Türkiye), pre-IMF crisis economic reforms
Outcomes: 4.5x GDP per capita growth ($13,355 in 1996 → $36,195 in 2023)
5. Current Status (2023)
Total Members: 38 countries
Candidate Countries: Brazil (targeting 2025) and 7 others
Key Agendas: Digital taxation, climate change, AI governance
