Cooperative businesses supported at least 279.4 million people worldwide, according to the International Cooperative Alliance and CICOPA. The reported total includes people working in cooperatives and producer-members working within the scope of cooperatives, so it is broader than a conventional employee count. The underlying country observations were collected for the report’s 2017 edition and mostly refer to 2014, with some country figures from earlier or later periods.
Contents
- How cooperative employment is measured
- Global scale of cooperative employment
- Regional patterns
- Asia country statistics
- Europe country statistics
- Americas and Oceania statistics
- European cooperative and social-economy jobs
How cooperative employment is measured
The Cooperatives and Employment Second Global Report separates several groups. Cooperative employees are people employed by cooperatives. Worker-members work in cooperatives while also holding membership. Producer-members work within the scope of cooperatives, such as through producer organizations, but are not necessarily employees of a cooperative.
This distinction matters when comparing figures. The report counted 27.2 million people working in cooperatives when employees and worker-members were combined. Its wider estimate reached at least 279.4 million people after including producer-members. The report also warns that producer-member and user-member totals may include some double counting. These figures should therefore be read as a description of the report’s measurement framework, not as a single contemporary payroll total.
The report’s global figures combine country observations collected across different years. The dataset covered 156 countries, with most reference data from 2014, while individual country entries range from 2005 to 2017. The measurement period is stated alongside the figures below so that older observations are not mistaken for 2026 estimates.
Global scale of cooperative employment
The 156-country table recorded 27,197,469 direct cooperative workers, comprising employees and worker-members. Within that total, cooperative employees numbered 16,048,886 and worker-members numbered 11,148,583. The report described the combined 27.2 million as people working in cooperatives.
The wider cooperative employment measure was dominated by producer-members. Producer-members working within the scope of cooperatives numbered 252,199,398. Adding that group to direct cooperative workers produced the report’s total of at least 279.4 million people. The report recorded cooperative employment at 9.46% of total employment in the countries included in its dataset, using 2014 reference employment data.
The same 2014–2016 data update, published in 2017, estimated 2.94 million cooperatives worldwide. Membership across all cooperative types was estimated at 1,217.5 million people. Membership is not the same as employment, however: the membership estimate includes cooperative members generally, while the employment measure focuses on people working in cooperatives or within their scope.
The main global figures can be summarized as follows.
| Measure | Reported people | Reference period |
|---|---|---|
| Employees in cooperatives | 16,048,886 | Mostly 2014 |
| Worker-members | 11,148,583 | Mostly 2014 |
| Direct cooperative workers | 27,197,469 | Mostly 2014 |
| Producer-members within the scope of cooperatives | 252,199,398 | Mostly 2014 |
| Wider cooperative employment measure | At least 279.4 million | 2014–2016 update, published 2017 |
All rows in this table come from the Cooperatives and Employment Second Global Report. The report’s warning about possible double counting applies especially to the wider measure.
Regional patterns
Asia had the largest reported cooperative workforce when producer-members were included. Asia recorded 16,000,535 direct cooperative workers and 235,247,721 total cooperative workers under the broader measure. The difference reflects the scale of producer membership in the regional total.
Africa recorded 1,977,672 direct cooperative workers and 22,387,970 total cooperative workers including producer-members. Europe recorded 6,265,282 direct cooperative workers and 15,422,632 total cooperative workers under the same broad definition. The Americas recorded 2,878,542 direct workers and 6,116,035 total workers including producer-members.
Oceania recorded 75,438 direct cooperative workers. The supplied regional figures do not provide a corresponding total including producer-members for Oceania, so the direct figure should not be compared with the broader totals for the other regions as though the measures were identical.
| Region | Direct cooperative workers | Total including producer-members | Reference period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 16,000,535 | 235,247,721 | Mostly 2014 |
| Africa | 1,977,672 | 22,387,970 | Mostly 2014 |
| Europe | 6,265,282 | 15,422,632 | Mostly 2014 |
| Americas | 2,878,542 | 6,116,035 | Mostly 2014 |
| Oceania | 75,438 | Not supplied | Mostly 2014 |
These regional values are from the Cooperatives and Employment Second Global Report. They show why a regional ranking changes depending on whether the question concerns direct work inside cooperatives or work carried out through cooperative producer structures.
Asia country statistics
The country figures illustrate the range of cooperative employment structures in Asia. Bangladesh reported 512,904 cooperative employees, 268,556 worker-members, and 1,675,105 producer-members in 2017. These are separate categories in the report and should not be treated as three independent payrolls.
China reported 2,431,417 cooperative employees and 650,000 worker-members. Its reported producer-member figure was 160 million. The source years for China’s observations ranged from 2010 to 2016, so the figures do not represent one single-year census.
India reported 1,215,636 cooperative employees, 6,845,701 worker-members, and 31,359,677 producer-members for 2009–2010. The Indian figures therefore precede the report’s mostly 2014 reference year by several years.
Kenya’s entry in the same report recorded 783,202 cooperative employees for 2014–2015. The supplied country data does not provide worker-member or producer-member figures for Kenya, so the employee count is the only listed measure for that country.
| Country | Employees | Worker-members | Producer-members | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 512,904 | 268,556 | 1,675,105 | 2017 |
| China | 2,431,417 | 650,000 | 160,000,000 | 2010–2016 source years |
| India | 1,215,636 | 6,845,701 | 31,359,677 | 2009–2010 |
| Kenya | 783,202 | Not supplied | Not supplied | 2014–2015 |
Source: Cooperatives and Employment Second Global Report. China and India demonstrate how producer-member counts can be much larger than direct cooperative employment, while Bangladesh provides figures across all three categories.
Europe country statistics
Italy reported 1,150,292 cooperative employees, 1,017,663 worker-members, and 792,092 producer-members in 2014. Germany reported 898,334 cooperative employees and 1,680,000 producer-members in 2014; a worker-member figure was not supplied for Germany.
France reported 683,043 cooperative employees and 1,068,771 producer-members for 2014–2015. Spain reported 171,724 employees, 230,000 worker-members, and 1,179,323 producer-members in 2014.
| Country | Employees | Worker-members | Producer-members | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1,150,292 | 1,017,663 | 792,092 | 2014 |
| Germany | 898,334 | Not supplied | 1,680,000 | 2014 |
| France | 683,043 | Not supplied | 1,068,771 | 2014–2015 |
| Spain | 171,724 | 230,000 | 1,179,323 | 2014 |
Source: Cooperatives and Employment Second Global Report. The country observations use different category coverage, which is why missing entries are left as “Not supplied” rather than treated as zero.
Americas and Oceania statistics
Argentina reported 87,486 cooperative employees, 177,568 worker-members, and 112,081 producer-members in 2008. This is one of the earliest country periods in the supplied figures. Brazil reported 362,838 employees, 291,046 worker-members, and 1,127,450 producer-members in 2014.
Canada reported 152,931 cooperative employees for 2012–2014. The supplied report entry does not include worker-member or producer-member figures for Canada. Australia reported 26,038 cooperative employees for 2010–2016, also without additional categories in the supplied figures.
| Country | Employees | Worker-members | Producer-members | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 87,486 | 177,568 | 112,081 | 2008 |
| Brazil | 362,838 | 291,046 | 1,127,450 | 2014 |
| Canada | 152,931 | Not supplied | Not supplied | 2012–2014 |
| Australia | 26,038 | Not supplied | Not supplied | 2010–2016 |
Source: Cooperatives and Employment Second Global Report. The differences in periods and category availability limit direct country-to-country comparisons, particularly where only employee data is reported.
European cooperative and social-economy jobs
More recent European figures use a broader social-economy frame. The European Commission’s Studies & Reports page reports that the EU social economy occupied at least 11.5 million people in 2021, equal to 6.3% of employed people in the EU. Within that broad social-economy workforce, cooperatives employed 3.3 million people, or 29% of the total. Social enterprises employed at least 3.9 million people across the EU.
These 2021 figures should not be added to the ICA/CICOPA global totals. The EU social economy includes cooperatives as one component alongside other organizational forms, so its figures describe a different population and classification system.
The European Commission’s current profile for CECOP, accessed in 2026, describes a represented European cooperative network of 40,000 enterprises employing 1.3 million workers. The profile also lists 12,000 social cooperatives employing 270,000 workers and 35,000 worker cooperatives. The measurement year for these profile figures is not stated, so they should be treated as current-profile figures rather than assigned to a specific annual employment estimate.
The European figures therefore provide three distinct reference points: the older ICA/CICOPA country dataset, the European Commission’s 2021 estimate for the broader EU social economy, and CECOP’s current network profile. Keeping those scopes and periods separate is essential when using cooperative business employment statistics to describe community and work.