Founding of G20

The G20 was formed after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, when the leading industrial powers recognised that major emerging economies needed a seat in discussions on global financial stability. The group was announced by the finance ministers of the G7 and met for the first time later that year in Berlin, at the level of finance ministers and central bank governors. During the global financial crisis of 2008 it was upgraded to meetings of heads of state and government, starting with a summit in Washington. It now brings together nineteen countries, the European Union and, since 2023, the African Union, and its members represent most of the world's economy and population.

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