ICA 1995 Statistics (1996)
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This document has been made available in electronic format
by the International Co-operative Alliance ICA
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December, 1996
(Source: Review of International Co-operation
Vol.89, No.4/1996, pp.68-69)
1995 Statistics
by Alina Pawlowska*
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The revised statistics for 1995 show three significant facts; two
of a geographical nature and the third of a sectorial nature.
Firstly, after many years when Asia was the leading region for
membership development, the trend has moved to Latin America.
Leaving aside the USA and Canada, the two heavyweights of the
region, the rise in membership is taking place in Latin American.
For example, the five ICA members in Brazil represent almost four
million members and a hundred and fifty thousands jobs. In 1995
alone, the Brazilian agricultural/livestock sector exported nine
hundred and seventeen million US dollars of agricultural produce.
In 1995, this sector accounted for 55% of the national dairy
production, 44% of barley and 62% of wheat and its share of GNP
was more than five percent. In recent years worker co-operatives
in the region have also increased substantially - the medical
doctors' union is now present in three quarters of the Brazilian
municipalities.
Europe still retains the record for membership within ICA,
organisations from the European Union being the largest regional
grouping with over sixty very diversified organisations
representing all sectors. We can only regret that the lack of
effective national monitoring systems hinders any meaningful
comparison between them. For example, the co-operative
organisations in Italy and Spain were unable to provide us with
data at the time of the survey.
The second interesting fact is that, contrary to the prophesies
of certain Cassandras, the co-operatives in Eastern and Central
Europe did not disappear altogether. After a period of divisions
and liquidations, a kind of precarious stabilisation has been
achieved. It now appears that the co-ops, having been freed from
their obligation to feed or house the nation, have found their
own niche in the market economy and become just another player
in the economic life. There is a marked trend of co-ops
abandoning the traditional sectors such as agriculture or retail
distribution, or being squeezed out by competitors, and
developing instead in new areas such as health care and
financial services. Sometimes the individual country's new
economic and political systems are not ready to accommodate these
new initiatives, as was the case with Moscow's Unity Bank, but
credit unions and insurance co-ops have made excellent progress
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- notably in Poland and Slovakia. However, there is no uniform
evolution in the business development within this region - the
economic performance depends on the economic environment within
each country. Consumer co-ops in Bulgaria and Hungary made a
comfortable surplus in 1994, for example, while Centrosoyuz in
Russia registered losses. Interestingly enough, this year, the
reply rate to our questionnaire from Eastern and Central European
organisations was almost 100%, compared with 67% in the region
as a whole.
The third fact that should be noted is the progressive
disappearance of consumer co-operatives from the ICA membership.
There were no consumer co-operative admitted into ICA membership
in 1995. The only exception to this rule could have been the case
where a national apex union might include a national federation
of consumer co-ops within its own membership. Most newly admitted
societies come from the financial (e.g. insurance and credit
unions) or from the service sector. This is an evolution which
should be taken into consideration when establishing development
plans.
In Africa the work of ICA Regional Offices is focused on
strengthening existing movements.
The largest and the smallest ICA member organisations are to be
found in Asia. The All China Federation is the largest single
society in membership of the ICA and the Tonga Co-operative
Federation is the smallest. To give as an example the smallest
member of ICA, it can be noted that the 64 local societies in
Tonga have a turnover of 20 million USD and a surplus of 80
thousand USD. Members are served by 159 employees, a third of
which are women.
Notes
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N/A - data Not Available
* - data available for certain organisations
Austria - data for Raiffeisen Union
Bulgaria - data for Co-op Union
Denmark - data for FDB
France - data for Confederation Nationale du Credit Mutuel
and Confederation Nationale de la Mutualite de la
Cooperation et du Credit Agricoles
Germany - data for consumer unions
Italy - data for La Lega
Norway - data for NKL and NBBL
Poland - members of all registered co-operatives
Spain - data for Consejo Superior de Euskadi
Korea - data for NACUFOK and NACF
Kuwait - data for Consumer Union
Argentina - data for Instituto Movilisador, Coninagro and
Cooperativa Electricidad de Bariloche
Costa Rica- excluding Consucoop
El Salvador- excluding COACES
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* Ms Pawlowska is the Documentation Officer at ICA Headquarters
and Secretary to the Committee on Co-operative Research.
International Co-operative Alliance Membership
by Region (1996)
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World Total
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Individual 765,258,821
National Organisations 223
International Organisations 7
Countries 95
Africa
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Organisations 26
Countries 16
Individuals 13,924,267
3 Benin 56,000
1 Botswana 77,736
1 Burkina Faso 20,000
1 Cape Verde 20,000
1 Cote D'Ivoire 176,422
6 Egypt 4,000,000
1 Gambia 100,000
2 Kenya 2,700,430
1 Mali 4,400
1 Morocco 675,609
1 Niger 880,000
2 Senegal 2,300,000
1 Swaziland 17,430
1 Tanzania 1,351,018
1 Uganda 638,222
2 Zambia 907,000
Americas
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Organisations 45
Countries 18
Individuals 170,527,990
8 Argentina 884,000
2 Bolivia N/A
5 Brazil 3,747,804
2 Canada 12,000,000
2 Chile 183,300
3 Colombia N/A
3 Costa Rica 196,663
1 Curacao 17,000
3 El Salvador 71,369
1 Gautemala 257,063
3 Honduras 202,430
1 Mexico 308,255
1 Paraguay 95,378
1 Peru N/A
3 Puerto Rico 1,028,077
2 Uruguay 844,651
4 USA 150,692,000
Asia and the Pacific
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Organisations 59
Countries 25
Individuals 492,966,512
1 Bangladesh 7,476,967
1 China 160,000,000
1 Fiji 21,276
9 India 174,820,000
1 Indonesia 35,715,623
2 Iran 8,174,140
1 Israel 714,680
11 Japan 57,527,085
1 Jordan 72,722
1 Kazakhstan 3,700,000
6 Korea, RO 10,040,552
2 Kuwait 192,155
1 Kyrghystan 1,069,000
5 Malaysia 3,818,414
1 Mongolia 64,000
1 Myanmar 3,984,096
2 Pakistan 9,391,926
2 Philippines 484,557
1 Singapore 926,049
4 Sri Lanka 4,549,800
1 Thailand 5,844,027
1 Tonga 1,200
1 Turkmenistan 738,000
1 Uzbekistan 3,640,243
1 Vietnam N/A
Europe
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Organisations 93
Countries 36
Individuals 87,840,052
1 Armenia 14,512
3 Austria 2,200,326
1 Azerbaijan 920,000
1 Belarus 1,921,028
4 Belgium N/A
2 Bulgaria 418,000
4 Cyprus 539,270
2 Czech Rep. 1,674,902
3 Denmark 780,200
1 Estonia 80,573
2 Finland 2,256,679
6 France 10,593,600
1 Georgia 200,000
4 Germany 1,960,000
2 Greece 1,029,120
4 Hungary 3,898,056
1 Iceland N/A
3 Italy 3,836,718
1 Latvia 761,400
1 Lithuania 358,000
1 Malta 5,016
1 Moldova 610,927
4 Norway 1,303,711
2 Poland 6,092,000
2 Portugal 2,164,119
2 Romania 6,165,000
5 Russia 12,578,015
1 Slovak Rep. 1,425,917
1 Slovenia 25,000
7 Spain 266,443
6 Sweden 7,473,000
1 Switzerland 1,330,520
6 Turkey N/A
1 Ukraine 6,700,000
5 UK 8,258,000
1 Yugoslavia, Ex N/A
International Organisations in Membership of the ICA
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Name of the Location No. No. Indl. Activity
Organisation of of of Member- Sector
Secreta- Coun- Societies ship
riat tries
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ACCU Bangkok 13 13,921 5,769,797 Credit Union
League
COLAC Panama 18 32 4,816,843 Credit Union
League
CONSUMINTER Moscow N/A N/A N/A Foreign trade
Society
CCC-CA San Jose N/A N/A N/A Regional
Association
ICPA Dordrecht N/A 28 N/A Supply of
Oil Products
OCA Bogota 19 146 40,000,000 Regional
Association
WOCCU Madison 87 37,078 88,015,561 Union of
Savings &
Credit Co-ops
