1 Billion People in 96 Countries Now Belong to a Co-operative
Global Cooperation Reaches 1 Billion People
The report’s author, Gary Gardner, WorldWatch.org writes that cooperatives are low-profile but powerful economic actors, with the world’s 300 largest ones generating revenues in 2008 of more than $1.6 trillion. The report also notes that the cooperative model surpasses the shareholder model in at least one area: the 1 billion member-owners of cooperatives worldwide exceed the 893 million direct and indirect shareholders of corporations. If these businesses were a national economy, they would rank ninth in the world—ahead of the economy of Spain. The report also reveals that 99% of cooperative businesses operate primarily within seven economic sectors:
Shares of Cooperatives as a percentage of all business
Submitted by Kenny Bavoso of Coop.org
