Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Logo
Founder States (1961)      Other Member States
Secretariat	Paris, France
Official languages	English French
Membership	34 states  Australia  Austria  Belgium  Canada  Chile  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Iceland  Ireland  Israel  Italy  Japan  Luxembourg  Mexico  Netherlands  New Zealand  Norway  Poland  Portugal  Slovakia  Slovenia  South Korea  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States
Leaders
• Secretary-General	José Ángel Gurría
Establishment
• as the OEECa	16 April 1948
• reformed as the OECD	30 September 1961
Website www.OECD.org
Organisation for European Economic Co-operation.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of thirty four countries. Member countries of OECD all have a democratic system of government. They also accept the principle of a free economy. A country has a free economy, when its government does not control the economic activities of its citizens and companies.

The OECD started 1948 as the Organisation 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 help each other re-build their 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.

Right now, OECD has thirty four 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

14 countries joined OECD after 1960. The names of these countries (with the year they joined in 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)
11. Chile (2010)
12. Slovenia (2010)
13. Israel (2010)
14. Estonia (2010)

Video clips

Images for kids

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  Payroll and income tax by OECD Country

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  The main entrance to the OECD Conference Centre in Paris

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  The exterior of the Château de la Muette and the grounds of the OECD Conference Centre

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  A meeting room in the Château de la Muette