G-8 countries

The Group of Eight (G8, and
formerly the G6 or Group of Six)
is a forum, created by France in
1975, for the governments of
six major economies: France,

Germany,
Italy,
Japan,
the United
Kingdom, and
the United States.

In 1976, Canada joined the
group (thus creating the G7). In
1997, the group added Russia,
thus becoming the G8.

In
addition, theEuropean Union is
represented within the G8, but
cannot host or chair.

"G8" can
refer to the member states or to
the annualsummit meeting of
the G8 heads of government. The
former term, G6, is now
frequently applied to the six most
populous countries within the
European Union. G8 ministers
also meet throughout the year,
such as the G7/8 finance
ministers (who meet four times a
year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8
environment ministers.

Each calendar year, the
responsibility of hosting the G8
rotates through the member
states in the following order:
France,
United States,
United
Kingdom,
Russia,
Germany,
Japan,
Italy, and
Canada.

The holder of
the presidency sets the agenda,
hosts the summit for that year,
and determines which ministerial
meetings will take place. Lately,
both France and the United
Kingdom have expressed a
desire to expand the group to
include five developing countries,
referred to as the Outreach Five
(O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil,
People's Republic of China, India,
Mexico, and South Africa. These
countries have participated as
guests in previous meetings,
which are sometimes called
G8+5.

With the G-20 major economies
growing in stature since the
2008 Washington summit, world
leaders from the group
announced at their Pittsburgh
summit on September 25, 2009,
that the group will replace the G8
as the main economic council of
wealthy nations.