The member countries are: 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. The G20, which was founded in 1999, became the most important forum for economic coordination on the global level in 2008–2009 during the financial crisis. Today, the G20 is the main forum for discussing the international regulatory framework. Cooperation among the G20 members made an essential contribution to stabilising national economies and financial markets in the aftermath of the crisis, the repercussions of which still shape the G20’s work. Increasingly, however, the forum is also focusing on preventing new crises through forward-looking cooperation, learning from experience and making economies more resilient.

Together, the G20 members currently represent over 85% of global gross domestic product, three-quarters of world trade and roughly two-thirds of the world’s population. In addition to the G20 members, guest countries are invited to participate on a regular basis. Spain is a permanent guest. International organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations, the Financial Stability Board and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are also invited to the G20 meetings.