FACTS FILES : –

• There are 750 Million Co-operative Members in over 100 countries.
• In Sweden, almost all the forestry industry is run by Co-operatives.
• One in every three citizens of the United States is a member of a Co-operative Society.
• The Co-operatives sell more than 5(Five) Million pints (0.57 litre) of milk in Britain every day.
• More than half of the income of the Nothern Italian town of Imola is generated by co-operative businesses.
• There is a Co-operative Society for employees in the Emperor’s Palace in Japan. Nearly all-Canadian wheat is sold through agricultural Co-operatives.
• Europe’s biggest bank, Credit Agricole, is a Co-operative owned by French farmers.
• One of the most southerly co-operatives in the world is the Co-operative Store in Stanley.
• Capital of Las Islas Malvinas, (Falkland Islands).
• In India all the 6,82,862 villages are covered by Co-operatives.
• There are 442 Million Co-operative Members in Asia.
• The Co-operative is Britain’s biggest Commercial farmer, with 45,000 acres of owned or managed by the Co-operative Wholesale Society.
• Sean Connery earned a living driving a Co-operative horse-drawn milk float in Edinburgh, UK before he turned to acting.
• The Co-operative Bank was the first clearing bank in the UK to introduce a free banking accounts in 1973.
• In Moscow, Russia, there is a Rockdale Street named in honour of the Pioneers.
• In Italy, consumer co-operatives are the number one food distributors, and each co-operative contributes a part of its profits to develop new co-operatives.
• Henry Pitman, brother of the shorthand inventor Sir Isaac Pitman, started one of the first co-operative periodicals “The Co-operator” in 1860.
• Japanese University Student Unions are all run as Co-operatives.
• 49.3% of the total agricultural credit is disbursed by the Co-operatives in India.
• The Co-operative Bank “Gold Card” is the most popular “Gold” Credit Card in Britain.
• One of the world’s top ten investment houses is the Japanese Farmers’ Insurance Co-operative, “Zenkyoren”, which has managed assets of more than 132 Billion Dollars.
• The Co-operative Sector employs 1.8 Million people in Europe.
• In India, 14.1 Million employment generated (direct + indirect) through co-operatives.