This page is part of a series of visualizations on the WTO. To see all pages click here.
An animated map of country membership expansion in the main institution of trade multilateralism
Founded in 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) might seem like one of the youngest international organizations of global economic governance, but it is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established after WWII.
It differs from other institutions of international economic governance in that decisions are made by its entire membership in the form of consensus as opposed to, for example, quotas from economic size.
Member countries during GATT and WTO
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During 1948 the GATT had 34 member countries. Interestingly, China was among them, even though it had not yet undergone its revolution. Today, the WTO has 166 members constituting 98% of global trade.
