Advancing a Global Statistical Framework for the Social and Solidarity Economy
9 February 2026
GENEVA (ILO News) – The Technical Working Group on Social and Solidarity Economy Statistics (TWG-SSES) is advancing the development of an internationally coherent statistical framework for measuring the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), marking a key step in strengthening the global evidence base.
At its fourth meeting on 3 February 2026, the Working Group focused on consolidating the conceptual foundations required to produce internationally comparable and policy-relevant statistics of the SSE. The process is moving from broad principles toward operational statistical guidance.
The framework under development identifies a set of core characteristics that allow SSE entities to be distinguished within existing statistical systems. These characteristics include serving the collective and/or general interest as an overarching objective; democratic and/or participatory governance structures; voluntary participation and mutual aid; autonomy and institutional independence; and the primacy of people and social purpose over capital.
The Working Group is translating these principles into observable and measurable statistical criteria, examining how governance structures, limits on profit distribution, ownership arrangements, and accounting treatments can be operationalized and aligned with evolving international standards, including the 2025 System of National Accounts (SNA).
The next phase will focus on developing multi-step screening logic to guide countries in identifying SSE entities. In countries with an SSE framework law aligned with the agreed criteria, legal forms under that law could define the statistical scope. In other contexts, individual legal forms will be assessed directly against the agreed characteristics.
Work will also advance on identifying key indicators, particularly in employment, decent work, and economic contribution. The outputs will contribute to draft Guidelines on SSE Statistics for broad consultation, with a view to submission to the 22nd International Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2028.
This initiative represents a significant step in international statistical standard-setting, laying the foundation for consistent measurement, stronger policy design, and improved global comparability of SSE statistics.