Emerging Co-operatives

Approximately 1 billion people in 96 countries now belong to a co-operative—a form of business characterized by democratic ownership and governance—according to the International Co-operative Alliance.1 Co-operatives are low-profile but powerful economic actors, with the world’s 300 largest ones generating revenues in 2008 of more than $1.6 trillion.2 If these businesses were a national economy, they would rank ninth in the world—ahead of the economy of Spain.3