Members of the G8
The G8 is made up of heads of government from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also represented at meetings by both the president of the European Commission and the leader of the country that has European Union presidency.
The group’s original 1976 line-up included France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries were later joined by Canada in 1976 and Russia in 1998.
All G8 members originate from the developed, industrialised world. The G8 excludes China and India, despite their rapid economic growth, and fails to represent countries in Africa and Latin America. This has led to accusations that the G8’s priorities fail to represent the majority of the developing world.
