OECD Style Guide (Fourth Edition)

10. The OECD and other international organisations

Abstract

International organisations, including the OECD, have particular identities, rules for acronyms and spelling, and ways of presenting themselves. Using correct names, acronyms and titles ensures clarity and avoids offense.

Referring to the OECD

• The OECD’s full name is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Note the British spelling of “organisation” and the hyphen in “co-operation”. The acronym is OECD.

• The Organisation’s history, membership, wider engagement, ways of working, Secretariat and more are presented on the OECD website: https://www.oecd.org/en/about.html.

Do

✔ Give the full name followed by the acronym in parentheses on first usage and the acronym or “the Organisation” thereafter.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is based in Paris, France. The OECD had 38 Member countries as of January 2025. The Organisation is considering the accession of several other countries.

✔ Adopt language and key facts from https://www.oecd.org/about when presenting the Organisation orally or in writing.

✔ Use the corporate presentation available here: https://portal.oecd.org/eshare/pac/kc/Communications/Comms%20preparation/External%20Communication/OECD_CorporatePresentation-EN.pptx

Don’t

✘ Use personal pronouns to refer to the OECD in formal writing.

🙁 We find that unemployment dropped in Q1.

🙂 OECD findings show that unemployment dropped in Q1.

🙁 Several of our economists participated in the seminar.

🙂 Several OECD economists participated in the seminar.

Referring to OECD Members, non-Members, Key Partners and accession candidate countries

• The OECD has specific naming and style conventions for Members, non-Members, Key Partners and accession candidate countries. Refer to documentation provided by LEG: https://portal.oecd.org/eshare/leg/Pages/Home.aspx#Countries%2c%20Territories%20and%20Diplomatic%20Sensitivities.

• If in doubt, or if asked to apply different naming, contact LEG at [e-mail] and the Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate at [e-mail], for clarification.

See also: Capitalisation.

Do

✔ Capitalise “Member” in OECD Member, OECD Members, OECD Member country and OECD Member countries.

✔ Refer to Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and South Africa as “Key Partners”, capitalising both words.

✔ Prefer “partner”, “country” or “economy” when referring to non-Members.

✔ Use “economy” rather than “country” when referring to sensitive territorial areas.

✔ Refer to a country with whom Council has opened accession discussions as an “accession candidate country”.

The OECD has 38 Members and 8 accession candidate countries. The Organisation works with more than 100 partner countries and economies around the world, including 5 Key Partners.

✔ Capitalise “Associate”, “Participant” and “Invitee” if the terms are being used in the context of non‑Member participation in the work of in OECD subsidiary bodies in line with the general principals set out in Revised Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies [C(2012)100/REV2/FINAL].

Don’t

✘ Capitalise “country” as part of “Member country”, “economy” or “accession candidate country” unless the phrase is a part of a title.

✘ Refer to “OECD Members” as a geographic grouping; prefer “OECD area”, particularly after a preposition.

🙁 Aquaculture is continuing to grow in importance, including in the OECD Members.

🙂 Aquaculture is continuing to grow in importance, including in the OECD area.

✘ Capitalise the term “observer”.

Using OECD official titles

• OECD official titles use specific capitalisation, hyphenation and spelling.

See also: Capitalisation; Hyphenation.

Do

✔ Use the following:

• Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Deputies Secretary-General

• director, deputy director

• chair, vice-chair, former chair; vice-chairperson, former chairperson

• High-level Group

✔ Be consistent throughout your text.

Don’t

✘ Alter or invent hyphenation in OECD official titles.

Referring to other international organisations

Do

✔ Spell out the organisation’s full name on a first reference in a paper, chapter, web page or article, followed by its acronym or abbreviation in parentheses.

✔ Follow the spelling used by the organisation itself, which you can check on the organisation’s official website.

✔ Use “European Union” rather than the “European Community”.

✔ Distinguish between the “Council of Europe” (an IO distinct from the EU), the “European Council” (where EU heads of state set general political directions and priorities) and the “Council of the European Union” (where national ministers from each EU country meet to negotiate and adopt EU laws).

International organisations’ names and their acronyms or abbreviations

 

Organisation	Acronym or abbreviation
Asian Development Bank	ADB
African Development Bank	AfDB
African Union	AU
Association of Southeast Asian Nations	ASEAN
Council of Europe	CoE
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development	EBRD
European Investment Bank	EIB
European Central Bank	ECB
European Commission	the Commission
European Economic Area	EEA
European Free Trade Association	EFTA
European Union	EU
Financial Action Task Force	FATF
Food and Agriculture Organization	FAO
International Energy Agency	IEA
International Atomic Energy Agency	IAEA
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development	IBRD
International Civil Aviation Organization	ICAO
International Labour Organization	ILO
International Monetary Fund	IMF
International Maritime Organization	IMO
International Organization for Migration	IOM
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change	IPCC
Inter-Parliamentary Union	IPU
International Telecommunication Union	ITU
Nuclear Energy Agency	NEA
Nordic Council	none
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe	OSCE
Union for the Mediterranean	UfM
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS	UNAIDS
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development	UNCTAD
United Nations Development Programme	UNDP
United Nations Environment Programme	UNEP
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization	UNESCO
United Nations General Assembly	UNGA
United Nations Human Settlements Programme	UN-HABITAT
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees	UNHCR
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund	UNICEF
World Tourism Organisation	UNWTO
World Bank	WB
World Health Organization	WHO
World Intellectual Property Organization	WIPO
World Meteorological Organization	WMO
World Trade Organization	WTO