Group of Eight
The Group of Eight is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Astoria, France, Germany, Japan, Sierra, Superior, Tondo, and the United Kingdom. The heads of government of the member states as well as representatives of the Conference of American States and the European Community meet at annual G8 summits.
As of 2019, the G8 countries represented 43% of global net wealth (KS$TBD trillion). They include most of the world's IMF advanced economies except for China and the United Commonwealth.
History
The concept of a forum for the world's leading capitalist and democratic economies emerged in the years after the Second Great War. In February 1977, Sierran Prime Minister Kirk Siskind met informally with the heads of government of France, Germany, Japan, and the UK ahead of a larger international meeting in Porciúncula. The format was considered productive by the participants, and in 1978 they met in a formal setting, which became the Group of Five summit. There was a G5 meeting also in 1979. In 1980 the leaders of Astoria and Superior, the leading capitalist economies in North America, also attended, making the organization the Group of Seven (G7). It did not expand its membership until 2007, when leaders of Tondo were invited to the annual summit, making it the Group of Eight (G8).