Co-op Fortnight Day 8 - The International Impact of Co-operatives
This article will take approximately 3 minutes to read
Published 28 Jun 2021 in Raising Awareness
When we’re doing our day job it can be easy to forget that we’re part of a huge global co-operative movement. In fact, there are more than 7,000 co-operatives in the UK alone doing amazing things for their communities and members. Here are some eye-opening co-op facts…
The UK Picture
The Midcounties Co-operative is the UK’s largest co-operative fully owned by its members and when we think of co-operatives, we usually think of a retail co-op like Midcounties, Central England and The Co-op Group.
However, co-operatives actually operate across sectors as diverse as manufacturing, energy, education, agriculture, housing and finance.
Co-operatives contributed over £38.2 billion to the UK’s economy in 2020 and provide work for more than 240,000 British people. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK are members of a co-op (14 million).
The world view
There are 3 million co-operatives worldwide employing 280 million people across the globe – that’s 10% of the world’s employed population.
Collectively, the world’s 300 largest co-ops or mutuals generate a massive £1,538 billion in turnover, as well as providing services and infrastructure their communities need to thrive. And 12% of the world’s population are members of a co-op.
Visit Co-operatives UK or the International Co-operative Alliance for more information.