Organization of Ibero-American States
Cultural · OEI
The seat has stood in Madrid since 1954, some 6,700 kilometres from the nearest member capital across the Atlantic. Article 4 admits any Ibero-American state whose government asks to join and signs the Acta de Protocolización de los Estatutos, and nothing in the statutes says what Ibero-American means. Ministers of education govern between assemblies, and the field is education, science, technology and culture.
23 countries
- AndorraA Pyrenean co-principality made sovereign by referendum on 14 March 1993, with a euro agreement from 2011 and 89,752 residents on 30 June 2026.
- Argentina
- BoliviaWuliwya
- BrazilBrasil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominican RepublicRepública Dominicana
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Equatorial GuineaGuinea Ecuatorial
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- MexicoMéxico
- Nicaragua
- PanamaPanamá
- Paraguay
- PeruPiruw
- Portugal10.3 million people on 92,225 km2, a language spoken by 250 million, a border unchanged since the 13th century, and close to three foreign visitors a year for every resident.
- Spain48.6 million people on 505,990 km2, five official languages, seventeen governments and 97 million visitors a year. What Spain is, how it is run and what is worth seeing.
- UruguayRepública Oriental del Uruguay
- Venezuela
Common questions
Questions about OEI
Which countries belong to the Organization of Ibero-American States?
Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela, which is 23 states across three continents. Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Luxembourg, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste hold observer status, which carries a voice at the General Assembly and no vote.
What does a country have to do to join the OEI?
Article 4 of the statutes asks for three things and stops: the government requests entry, accepts incorporation, and signs the Acta de Protocolización de los Estatutos. There is no accession treaty to negotiate and no admission vote written into the text. Ratification at home follows separately, as Colombia's did by Ley 28 of 17 October 1960. Thereafter Article 18 obliges the member to an annual quota.
Why is Equatorial Guinea a member of an Ibero-American organisation?
Because Article 4 admits Ibero-American states without saying what makes a state one. Equatorial Guinea lies in Central Africa between Cameroon and Gabon, was administered from Madrid until independence on 12 October 1968, and its record lists Spanish, French and Portuguese as official languages. It also belongs to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Whether an African state is Ibero-American is a reading this catalogue records rather than settles.
Why is Andorra a member when its official language is Catalan?
The statutes make Spanish and Portuguese the organisation's own languages in Article 1, but the membership article says nothing about the language of a member. Andorra lies in the Pyrenees with Spain to its south and France to its north, and its record lists Catalan and no other official language. Several members record languages the statutes do not name either, among them Guarani in Paraguay and Quechua in Peru and Bolivia.
Does the OEI have standing at the United Nations?
It has observer status in the General Assembly, granted by resolution 78/117, which was adopted without a vote on 7 December 2023. The draft had been introduced in the Sixth Committee on behalf of twenty co-sponsoring governments. Observer status allows the organisation to take part in the Assembly's work without a vote, and it does not make the OEI a specialised agency of the United Nations.
Sources
- Ley 30 de 1989: Estatutos de la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura · Diario Oficial de Colombia 38713, 23 February 1989. The full statutory text signed at Panama City on 2 December 1985, and the preamble recording Madrid in 1949, Quito in 1954 and Santo Domingo in 1957.
- Observer status for the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture: statement introducing A/C.6/78/L.3 · United Nations Sixth Committee, 78th session, October 2023. The three organs, the seat of the General Secretariat at Madrid, the national offices in 19 member countries and the twenty co-sponsors.
- Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its 78th session · United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library. Resolution 78/117 on observer status, adopted without a vote on 7 December 2023.
- Pliego de condiciones administrativas · Organization of Ibero-American States. The roster of member states, as read on 2 September 2026.
- Organizaciones para la economía, la política y los recursos · Centro Virtual Cervantes, Anuario 1998. A reading of the statutes, including Article 1 on the official languages and Article 6 on the organs.
- Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura · The member roster and the list of observer states and organisations.