• The G-7 includes the world’s leading industrialized nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• The G-8 includes the G7, plus Russia.

G-7 Background and Framework

The G-8's roots lie in the oil crisis and global economic recession of the early 1970s. In 1973, these challenges prompted the US to form the Library Group - an informal gathering of senior financial officials from Europe, Japan and the US.

At the instigation of the French, a 1975 meeting drew in heads of government. The delegates agreed to meet annually. The six nations involved became known as the G-6, and later the G-7 and G-8 after the entries of Canada (1976) and Russia (1998).

Alongside the annual summits are regular meetings of the G-8 foreign ministers to discuss foreign policy issues. Other ministers (labor, environment, development, etc.) also meet once a year in the G-8 framework.

G-8 finance ministers meet once a year before the actual summit (Russia, as well as the European Commission, are present at this gathering). However, finance ministers also meet in general three more times throughout the year in the G-7 framework.  Within this framework, Russia and the European Commission are only called in for specific agenda points.

Though the G-8 was set up as a forum for economic and trade matters, other issues are often addressed, including energy, climate change, and relations with developing countries. Eight members can agree on policies and can set objectives, but compliance is voluntary. The G-8 has clout in other world bodies because of the economic and political muscle of its members. Since 2005, the G-8 has been holding dialogues with the major emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.

The G-20 is an informal forum that promotes open and constructive discussion between industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability. By contributing to the strengthening of the international financial architecture and providing opportunities for dialogue on national policies, international co-operation, and international financial institutions, the G-20 helps to support growth and development across the globe.

What are the Origins?
The G-20 was created as a response both to the financial crises of the late 1990s and to a growing recognition that key emerging-market countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance. Prior to the G-20 creation, similar groupings to promote dialogue and analysis had been established at the initiative of the G-7. The G-22 met in Washington, D.C., in April and October 1998. Its aim was to involve non-G-7 countries in the resolution of global aspects of the financial crisis then affecting emerging-market countries. Two subsequent meetings including a larger group of participants (G-33) held in March and April 1999 discussed reforms of the global economy and the international financial system. The proposals made by the G-22 and the G-33 to reduce the world economy's susceptibility to crises showed the potential benefits of a regular international forum embracing the emerging-market countries. Such a regular dialogue with a constant set of partners was institutionalized by the creation of the G-20 in 1999.

Leadership
The G-20 has no permanent staff of its own. The G-20 chair rotates among members and is selected from a different region of the world each year. In 2009, the G-20 chair is the United Kingdom, and in 2010 it will be South Korea.  The chair is part of a Troika—a revolving three-member management of past, present, and future chairs. Each chair has a temporary staff, or secretariat, for the duration of its term to ensure continuity in the G-20's work, management, and organization.

For complete details on the G-20, click here.