The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse) published today the 2019 issue of the World Cooperative Monitor, now in its eighth year. The report explores the economic and social impact of the largest cooperatives and mutuals worldwide; providing a ranking of the Top 300, sector rankings, and an analysis of their contributions to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This issue of the World Cooperative Monitor collates data for 4,575 cooperatives and mutuals (1,152 from Europe, 3,218 from the Americas, 197 from Asia-Pacific, and 8 from Africa) from 10 different sectors. The top 300 cooperatives and mutuals report a total turnover of over two trillion USD (2,034.98 billion USD) based on 2017 financial data.
2019 Results - The world’s top 300 cooperatives and mutuals operate in various economic sectors, but this year’s results show an increased presence of the insurance sector in the Top 300: insurance accounts for 39%; agriculture 31.7%; wholesale and retail trade 17.7%; banking and financial services 7%; industry and utilities 1%; and health, education and social care 1%. There is also new data on employment and cooperative types.
This year’s results show the largest cooperatives performing well, with only slight variations in the top positions across the sectors. In the Top 300 ranking based on turnover Groupe Crédit Agricole and Groupe BPCE, both from France, are in first and second place respectively (no change from last year), and third is the German REWE Group. And in the Top 300 based on the ratio of turnover over gross domestic product (GDP) per capita ranking, two Indian producer cooperatives have reached second and third positions: Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, and IFFCO.
Focus on SDG 8. This year’s report contains a special analysis of the top 300 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all - SDG 8).
Three cases in particular related to SDG 8 are explored in depth within the report: Up Groupe (France), KRIBHCO (India), and SOK (Finland). Along with this analysis, there is an interview with the Secretary-General of CICOPA, Diana Dovgan featured in the section.
Cooperatives’ contribution to the SDGs and the importance of the World Cooperative Monitor were mentioned by UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held in New York in September 2019.
As Bruno Roelants, Director-General of the ICA, said:
“This new edition of the World Cooperative Monitor goes beyond the Top 300 ranking based on turnover, to further explore the dynamics of the cooperative movement. As highlighted by the United Nations, cooperatives make a substantial contribution to achieving the 2030 UN Agenda on Sustainable Development. In this year’s report, we can see concrete examples of specific actions undertaken by some of the largest from around the world”.
Gianluca Salvatori, Euricse Secretary-General, speaking on the role of cooperatives in achieving the UN 2030 Agenda said:
“Cooperatives must take on (and communicate) a strategy for sustainable development which can represent an effective alternative to the mainstream shareholder model, and comprehensively respond to present challenges. In fact, the more organisations participate in reporting initiatives that enable the collection of reliable and internationally comparable data, the more research and analysis can be done to demonstrate the social and economic impact of cooperatives”.
About WCM. The World Cooperative Monitor is a project designed to collect robust economic, organisational, and social data about cooperatives and mutuals worldwide. It is the only report of its kind collecting annual quantitative data on the global cooperative movement. 2019 marks the eighth edition of this annual research report produced by the ICA with the scientific and technical support of Euricse. Two primary rankings are presented, the first based on turnover in USD and the second based on turnover over GDP per capita.
We would like to thank the sponsors for making this edition possible: Crédit Mutuel, IFFCO, Rabobank and Kribhco
More information at https://monitor.coop/
