The IEA is made up of 28 member countries. Before becoming a member country of the IEA, a candidate country must demonstrate that it has:

• as a net oil importer, reserves of crude oil and/or product equivalent to 90 days of the prior year’s average net oil imports to which the government (even if it does not own those stocks directly) has immediate access should the Co-ordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM) – which provide a rapid and flexible system of response to actual or imminent oil supply disruptions – be activated;
• a demand restraint programme for reducing national oil consumption by up to 10%;
• legislation and organisation necessary to operate, on a national basis, the CERM; and
• legislation and measures in place to ensure that all oil companies operating  under its jurisdiction report information as is necessary.

There is a process to ascertain whether or not the potential member country can meet these requirements, during which the IEA Secretariat advises and works with the candidate country. The final decision rests with the Governing Board.

To be a member country of the IEA, a country must be a member country of the OECD.  However, membership in the OECD does not automatically result in membership in the IEA. Chile, Estonia, Iceland, Israel, Mexico and Slovenia are member countries of the OECD but not of the IEA. In order to become a member country of the IEA, countries must meet certain requirements. (See above).  Chile and Estonia, however, are currently candidate countries of the IEA.

The European Commission also participates in the work of the IEA. See Europe's Energy Portal.

For more information on IEA membership, click here.