Geopolitics › Alliances & institutions › G7 (Group of Seven)
G20 (Group of Twenty)
Leaders' summits since 2008; US boycotted 2025, hosts 2026· Alliance or organization
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
Forum of 19 major economies plus the EU and the African Union, covering about 85% of world output and two-thirds of humanity.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
Founded in 1999 as a finance ministers' club after the Asian financial crisis, it became a leaders' summit in November 2008 to coordinate the response to the global financial crisis. Unlike the G7 it includes China, India, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and other emerging powers. The African Union joined in 2023. The US boycotted South Africa's 2025 Johannesburg summit, the first in Africa, and holds the 2026 presidency, planning a slimmed-down summit near Miami in December.
Why it matters
It is the main forum where Western and emerging powers sit as equals; whether it can still act together, with Washington rejecting much of its recent agenda, is in doubt.
Key facts and numbers
Summit declarations since 2008, the 2023 New Delhi declaration admitting the AU, IMF GDP data, and US government statements on the 2025 boycott and 2026 plans.
What to watch
Outlook: whether the 2026 US-hosted summit narrows the G20 to core economics, and whether excluding South Africa splits the group. As of 2026.
Connections (2)
▸Cyril Ramaphosa hosted the 2025 summit of G20 (Group of Twenty)Fact
The relationship
South Africa held the 2025 G20 presidency under the theme 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability', pressing debt relief and climate finance for poor countries. Trump boycotted the summit, citing claims, which Pretoria rejects, that white Afrikaner farmers are persecuted. Leaders adopted a declaration without the US, and Trump said South Africa would not be invited in 2026.
Since when and why
Johannesburg, November 22–23, 2025, the first G20 leaders' summit held in Africa.
How we know
The summit declaration, White House and South African government statements, and Trump's social-media posts announcing the boycott and the 2026 exclusion.
What to watch
Whether South Africa is actually excluded in 2026, and whether the rift is mainly about Afrikaners, Israel or South Africa's BRICS alignment.
▸African Union (AU) became a permanent member of G20 (Group of Twenty)Fact
The relationship
With India's backing, the G20 admitted the 55-member African Union as a permanent member, putting it on the same footing as the EU. The aim was to give Africa, whose only other seat is South Africa's, a stronger voice on debt, climate finance and trade rules.
Since when and why
New Delhi summit, September 9, 2023, announced by Narendra Modi, who invited AU chair Azali Assoumani to take the seat at once.
How we know
The 2023 G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration and AU statements; the AU now attends G20 meetings as a member.
What to watch
Whether the AU can speak with one voice for 55 diverse states, and how the US-hosted 2026 summit treats it, are open questions.