Is Singapore in the G20?

The Group of Twenty, better known as the G20 is made up of 19 of the most advanced and emerging economies of the world as well as the European Union. It was formed in 1999 with the purpose of discussing and formulating policies as it pertains to the enhancement of global financial stability. Since the first G20 Summit held in 2008 in Washington DC, the group has further expanded their agenda.

Although Singapore is not a member of the G20, they have been participants in G20 Summits and its processes on several occasions as invited guests, from 2010 to 2011, and then from 2013 to 2020. They have often been invited as the Convener of the Global Governance Group, an informal group of 30 United Nations member countries founded to promote exchange of ideas between the G20 and the UN membership. In terms of why Singapore is not a G20 member despite its booming economy, it cannot be firmly ascertained why any country is a member of the G20. This is because membership has proven not to be based solely on the GDP or economic state of the country. If this was the case, the membership would have probably been updated by now. Since the membership remains unchanged since the G20’s establishment, we are only left with one clear reason; Caio Koch-Weser and Timothy Eichel decided on the list of countries in 1999, and the list has stayed the same.

While Spain has been a permanent invitee at G20 summits, member countries include the following:

1. Australia
2. Argentina
3. Brazil
4. China
5. Canada
6. France
7. India
8. Germany
9. Indonesia
10. Japan
11. Italy
12. Mexico
13. Saudi Arabia
14. South Africa
15. Russia
16. Turkey
17. South Korea
18. United States
19. United Kingdom
20. The European Union (which is obviously not a country)

During the annual summits, invites are extended to the following:

• The chair of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations
• Two African Countries (usually a representative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the African Union chair)
• An additional country

And Singapore has been an invitee to several G20 summits. For example, the island city-state attended the G20 Summits held in the following cities:

• Toronto (2010)
• Seoul (2010)
• Cannes (2011)
• St Petersburg (2013)
• Brisbane (2014)
• Antalya (2015)
• Hangzhou (2016)
• Hamburg (2017)
• Buenos Aires (2018)
• Osaka (2019)
• The virtual G20 summit of 2020