Group of Twenty G20

The Group of Twenty G20 is an international forum for governments and central bank governors of 20 major economies. Members, shown highlighted in the map at right, include 19 different countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the European Union (EU). The EU is represented by the European Commission and the European Central Bank.The G-20 was founded in 1999 with the aim of studying, reviewing and promoting high-level discussion on policy issues related to the promotion of international financial stability. This is to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any organization. Overall, the G-20 economies account for about 85% of gross world product (GWP), 80% of world trade (or, if the trade is excluded within the EU, 75%), two thirds of the world population, and.  The G-20 heads of government or heads of state have conferred regularly on the summits since their initial meeting in 2008.With the G-20 growing in stature after the 2008 Washington summit, its leaders announced on September 25, 2009, that the group would replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations. Since its inception, the policies of the G-20 have been criticized by many intellectuals, and their summits have been a focus for large protests by anti-globalists, nationalists and others.The heads of the G-20 nations met twice a year in summits of the G-20 between 2008 and 2011. From the Cannes summit November 2011, all G20 summits have been held annually. In December 2014, Turkey took over the presidency of the G20 in Australia, and will host the 2015 summit in Antalya group.