Migrated Content
We have recently updated the ILO website and are in the process of rebuilding a number of pages. You might encounter layout issues on pages as we work on them. Thank you for your understanding while we improve your experience.

Guidance and resources for the cooperative, social and solidarity economy

SSE: Statistics

Improving the quality and availability of statistics on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE) is essential to quantify the contribution of such entities to their members, users, communities, and both the economy and society at large. Despite their significant role, most countries currently lack reliable and comparable data on these important entities. The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with its constituents and various national and international partners, is actively working to address this data deficiency. It has notably developed guidelines concerning the measurement of cooperatives and a roadmap for developing Guidelines on statistics concerning the SSE.

26 October 2019



ILO’s Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193) states that national policies should “seek to improve national statistics on cooperatives with a view to the formulation and implementation of development policies”. To reaffirm this, the 19th Session of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 2013 included cooperatives in the Conference agenda for the first time in its history. The discussion converged towards the need for accurate, reliable, relevant and comparable statistics on the economic and social impact of cooperatives on the economies. 

At the 19th ICLS, a Resolution concerning further work on statistics of cooperatives was adopted with a view to carry out further developmental work on the measurement of cooperatives and conduct pilot studies in a number of countries to test various measurement approaches on collecting data on cooperatives. In line with the Resolution, the ILO Department of Statistics, the Cooperatives Unit at the ILO Enterprises Department and the members of the Technical Working Group at Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) prepared the guidelines on statistics of cooperatives.

At the 20th ICLS, the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives were adopted on 18th October 2018. The delegates from across regions as well as workers’ and employers’ delegates welcomed the draft guidelines and voted for their adoption at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva. The objective of these guidelines is to facilitate the development of a set of statistics on cooperatives that will provide an adequate information base for a wide range of descriptive, analytical and policy purposes related to cooperatives. 

At the 21st ICLS, the progress on the testing of the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives and a roadmap towards guidelines concerning statistics of the SSE were presented and discussed.


 

Related content

International Conference of Labour Statisticians discusses statistics of cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy (SSE)
Placeholder image

International Conference of Labour Statisticians discusses statistics of cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy (SSE)

Room document 15: Measuring the social and solidarity economy (SSE): A roadmap towards Guidelines concerning statistics of the SSE
Placeholder image

Room document 15: Measuring the social and solidarity economy (SSE): A roadmap towards Guidelines concerning statistics of the SSE

Room document 14: Measuring cooperatives: A progress update on the ILO Pilot study on the applicability and implementation of the Guidelines concerning statistics of cooperatives in five countries
Placeholder image

Room document 14: Measuring cooperatives: A progress update on the ILO Pilot study on the applicability and implementation of the Guidelines concerning statistics of cooperatives in five countries

Interview with Orkun Doğan, Economist and Researcher/Partner at Yerkure Local Studies Cooperative and Dissensus Research
Placeholder image

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators

Interview with Orkun Doğan, Economist and Researcher/Partner at Yerkure Local Studies Cooperative and Dissensus Research

ILO COOP participates to the CIRIEC conference on Social Economy
Placeholder image

ILO COOP participates to the CIRIEC conference on Social Economy

Improved statistics will strengthen global cooperative movement
Placeholder image

Improved statistics will strengthen global cooperative movement

ILO shares its work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy in Korea and strengthens cooperation with Korean partners
Placeholder image

ILO shares its work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy in Korea and strengthens cooperation with Korean partners

Interview with Chiara Carini, Senior Researcher at the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (EURICSE), and Massimo Lori, Senior Researcher at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)
Placeholder image

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators

Interview with Chiara Carini, Senior Researcher at the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (EURICSE), and Massimo Lori, Senior Researcher at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)

The global advisory committee of the ILO initiative on cooperative statistics holds its 5th meeting
Placeholder image

The global advisory committee of the ILO initiative on cooperative statistics holds its 5th meeting

The global advisory committee of the ILO initiative on cooperative statistics holds its 4th meeting
Placeholder image

The global advisory committee of the ILO initiative on cooperative statistics holds its 4th meeting

Interview with Carlos Gonzalez Blanco, Research Officer (Cooperatives of the Americas)
Placeholder image

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators

Interview with Carlos Gonzalez Blanco, Research Officer (Cooperatives of the Americas)

International Conference on Statistics of Cooperative – Measuring Cooperatives and Beyond
Placeholder image

International Conference on Statistics of Cooperative – Measuring Cooperatives and Beyond

ILO strengthens cooperation with Korean partners on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy
Placeholder image

ILO strengthens cooperation with Korean partners on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy

The global advisory committee of the ILO initiative on cooperative statistics holds its 3rd meeting
Placeholder image

The global advisory committee of the ILO initiative on cooperative statistics holds its 3rd meeting

The global advisory committee of the ILO’s initiative on statistics of cooperatives holds its 2nd meeting
Placeholder image

The global advisory committee of the ILO’s initiative on statistics of cooperatives holds its 2nd meeting

Measuring Cooperatives: An information guide on the ILO Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

Measuring Cooperatives: An information guide on the ILO Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

ILO holds an orientation session on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

ILO holds an orientation session on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

The ILO COOP Manager discusses appraising evidence on social and solidarity economy with ILO Constituents
Placeholder image

The ILO COOP Manager discusses appraising evidence on social and solidarity economy with ILO Constituents

Melih Toprak and Fatih Polattimur, Trade Experts at the Turkish Ministry of Trade
Placeholder image

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators

Melih Toprak and Fatih Polattimur, Trade Experts at the Turkish Ministry of Trade

Call for a national consultant to evaluate and make recommendations on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Tanzania
Placeholder image

Call for a national consultant to evaluate and make recommendations on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Tanzania

ILO COOP and ICA Brussels teams exchange on priority work areas and potential collaboration
Placeholder image

ILO COOP and ICA Brussels teams exchange on priority work areas and potential collaboration

Call for a national consultant to evaluate and make recommendations on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Costa Rica
Placeholder image

Call for a national consultant to evaluate and make recommendations on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Costa Rica

Call for a national consultant to evaluate and make recommendations on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Turkey
Placeholder image

Call for a national consultant to evaluate and make recommendations on the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Turkey

Guidelines concerning statistics of cooperatives
Placeholder image

Guidelines concerning statistics of cooperatives

ILO presents new initiative on statistics of cooperatives at the ICA Cooperative Research Conference
Placeholder image

ILO presents new initiative on statistics of cooperatives at the ICA Cooperative Research Conference

An ILO initiative on advancing the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

An ILO initiative on advancing the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

The ILO and the UNTFSSE participated in GSEF2021
Placeholder image

The ILO and the UNTFSSE participated in GSEF2021

The UNTFSSE organized a session as part of the 8th EMES conference on statistics
Placeholder image

The UNTFSSE organized a session as part of the 8th EMES conference on statistics

UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) releases new research on SSE statistics
Placeholder image

UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) releases new research on SSE statistics

The cooperative statistics component of the ILO project on Strengthening SSE Knowledge Base in Asia was featured at the third Social Economy Fair in Korea
Placeholder image

The cooperative statistics component of the ILO project on Strengthening SSE Knowledge Base in Asia was featured at the third Social Economy Fair in Korea

ILO COOP officials hold meetings with Korean stakeholders on implementing cooperative statistics guidelines
Placeholder image

ILO COOP officials hold meetings with Korean stakeholders on implementing cooperative statistics guidelines

Statistics of Cooperatives: Concepts, classification, work and economic contribution measurements
Placeholder image

Statistics of Cooperatives: Concepts, classification, work and economic contribution measurements

Guidelines Concerning Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

Guidelines Concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

The Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

The Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

The Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

The Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

ILO participates in a research workshop of UN Task Force on SSE on statistics
Placeholder image

ILO participates in a research workshop of UN Task Force on SSE on statistics

ILO participates in a research workshop of UN Task Force on SSE on statistics
Placeholder image

ILO participates in a research workshop of UN Task Force on SSE on statistics

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Nepal
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Nepal

ILO’s presentation at the 2nd ICA-AP Cooperative Registrars’ Forum
Placeholder image

ILO’s presentation at the 2nd ICA-AP Cooperative Registrars’ Forum

The International Conference of Labour Statisticians adopts guidelines on statistics of cooperatives
Placeholder image

The International Conference of Labour Statisticians adopts guidelines on statistics of cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Australia
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Australia

Cooperatives in the Republic of Korea: 3rd survey highlights cooperatives’ growing contribution to social and economic realms
Placeholder image

Cooperatives in the Republic of Korea: 3rd survey highlights cooperatives’ growing contribution to social and economic realms

Interview with Vic Van Vuuren, Director of ILO Enterprises Department, on statistics of cooperatives
Placeholder image

Interview with Vic Van Vuuren, Director of ILO Enterprises Department, on statistics of cooperatives

Interview with COPAC Board Member Bruno Roelants on statistics of cooperatives
Placeholder image

Interview with COPAC Board Member Bruno Roelants on statistics of cooperatives

Interview with Ramin Behzad, member of COPAC Technical Working Group on Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

Interview with Ramin Behzad, member of COPAC Technical Working Group on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Indonesia
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Indonesia

Advancing guidelines for statistics on cooperatives
Placeholder image

Advancing guidelines for statistics on cooperatives

Interview with Professor Marie J. Bouchard, Chair of COPAC Technical Working Group on Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

Interview with Professor Marie J. Bouchard, Chair of COPAC Technical Working Group on Statistics of Cooperatives

Interview with Professor Sonja Novkovic, member of COPAC Technical Working Group on Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

Interview with Professor Sonja Novkovic, member of COPAC Technical Working Group on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Costa Rica
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Costa Rica

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Republic of Korea
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Republic of Korea

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Turkey
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Turkey

Use of statistics on cooperatives in national policy making
Placeholder image

Use of statistics on cooperatives in national policy making

COPAC highlights progress on improved cooperative statistics at ICA Global Conference
Placeholder image

COPAC highlights progress on improved cooperative statistics at ICA Global Conference

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Japan
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Japan

Conceptual Framework for the Purpose of Measurement of Cooperatives and its Operationalization
Placeholder image

Conceptual Framework for the Purpose of Measurement of Cooperatives and its Operationalization

Member of COPAC Technical Working Group on statistics of cooperatives meets with the Philippines Statistics Authority
Placeholder image

Member of COPAC Technical Working Group on statistics of cooperatives meets with the Philippines Statistics Authority

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Islamic Republic of Iran
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Islamic Republic of Iran

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Mainland Tanzania
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Mainland Tanzania

Member of COPAC Technical Working Group on statistics of cooperatives presents on work and employment in cooperatives to the Working Group on the ICSE
Placeholder image

Member of COPAC Technical Working Group on statistics of cooperatives presents on work and employment in cooperatives to the Working Group on the ICSE

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Brazil
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Brazil

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: The Philippines
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: The Philippines

Interview with Rafael Diez de Medina, Director of ILO STATISTICS on Statistics of Cooperatives
Placeholder image

Interview with Rafael Diez de Medina, Director of ILO STATISTICS on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: United Kingdom
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: United Kingdom

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Russian Federation
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Russian Federation

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Canada
Placeholder image

Countries in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives

Statistics on Cooperatives Country in Focus: Canada

ILO & COPAC join forces with stakeholders to improve statistics on cooperatives
Placeholder image

ILO & COPAC join forces with stakeholders to improve statistics on cooperatives

Resolution on statistics of cooperatives (19th ICLS)
Placeholder image

Resolution on statistics of cooperatives (19th ICLS)

Regional meeting on cooperative statistics in Lesotho
Placeholder image

Regional meeting on cooperative statistics in Lesotho

Report III - Report of the Conference - 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, Geneva, 2 - 11 October 2013
Placeholder image

Report III - Report of the Conference - 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, Geneva, 2 - 11 October 2013