Rankings
In the rankings tables, summary data of the main co- operative sectors are analysed, and a list of the largest co-operatives in each individual sector is presented. The research team is aware of the limitations caused by the use of different indicators when comparing different types of co- operatives. For this reason, sectorial rankings are presented in this report.
Given the limited availability of data on the social dimension of co-operative and mutual enterprises, the rankings presented are purely economic in nature. In addition to rankings based on turnover, the rankings based on the ratio of turnover over gross domestic product (GDP) per capita are also presented. The ratio of turnover over GDP is not intended to compute the
contribution of each co-operative to the national GDP, but it is a first attempt to relate the turnover of the co-operative to the wealth of the country in which it operates. GDP and GDP per capita have in fact different meanings. GDP is the overall output of all the final goods and services produced within a country during one year. GDP per capita measures the purchasing power of an economy in an internationally comparable way. Therefore, the ratio of turnover over GDP per capita measures the turnover of a co-operative in terms of the purchasing power of an economy, in an internationally comparable way.
If a co-operative carries out several activities, it has been classified in the main sector of activity. If a co-operative carries out several activities and has a consolidated balance sheet, the total turnover of the various activities is considered for the sector and top 300 rankings. While the rankings generally consider individual co-operatives, the turnover for co-operatives that act as a group is summed in the event the group presents a consolidated balance sheet.
The list of countries found in the figures and tables is based on the United Nations’ “Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use” classification. Regarding the numerical and monetary values found in the tables, all values are expressed in US dollars with the conversion to US dollars based on the exchange rates from 31 December, 2013. The values are rounded to the second decimal place and percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Total percentage values may therefore not be equal to 100.