Image: Wikimedia Commons

Council of Europe

International organisation founded in 1949

Organizationintergovernmental organization organizationQ8908

Also known as CoE

Founded: May 5, 1949
1
Sources
1.Stated in Encyclopædia Britannica Online
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Headquarters: Palace of Europe
Country: France
Website: coe.int
, coe.int/fr
, coe.int/de
+3 more

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The Council of Europe is an international organisation which aims to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation with the largest number of Member States, representing 46 European member states. The council is an official United Nations observer. The headquarters of the Council of Europe, as well as the European Court of Human Rights – one of its main bodies – are situated in Strasbourg, France. Field offices are spread in over 16 countries, including in Africa, namely Morocco and Tunisia. The Council uses English and French as its two official languages. The Committee of Ministers, the PACE, and the Congress of the Council of Europe also use German and Italian for some of their work. The council's two statutory bodies are the Committee of Ministers, which comprises the foreign ministers of each member state, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which is composed of members of the national parliaments of each member state. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of and respect for human rights within the member states. The secretary general presides over the secretariat of the organisation. Other major CoE bodies include the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) and the European Audiovisual Observatory. The 1949 Statute of the Council of Europe established the organization, initially among Western European states. Portugal and Spain joined in 1976 and 1977 via the Portuguese and Spanish transitions to democracies. Following the revolutions of 1989 and dissolution of the Soviet Union, all post-Warsaw Pact and post-Yugoslav states countries joined, as well as all European post-Soviet states except Belarus and Kazakhstan. Russia became the first country expelled from the Council, following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Overview

Units

11 linked to Council of Europe in Wikidata

Members

46 linked to Council of Europe in Wikidata

Show all 46

All data

218 statements · 14% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Anthem: Anthem of Europe(since 1972)
Different from: Council of the European Union
European Council
Q62023253 criterion used: descriptive page and disambiguation page have to be in different items
European Union
Main regulatory text: Statute of the Council of Europe
Official language: English
French
Budget: €496M(2020)
1
Sources
1.coe.int/fr/web/about-us/budget
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Member count: 46 country(2022) statement is subject of: member states of the Council of Europe
Position held by head of the organization: Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Child organization or unit: European Court of Human Rights
European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
Claims Commission for Ukraine
Flag: flag of Europe(since 1955)
flag of the Council of Europe(since 1999) nature of statement: unofficial
Owner of: European Court of Human Rights building
Palace of Europe
Operating area: Europe
Board member: Theodoros Roussopoulos positions held: president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Ian Borg positions held: president of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Marc Cools positions held: president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Language used: German
Italian
Russian
Turkish
French
English
General secretary: Alain Berset(since 2024)
Social media followers: 20,700(March 10, 2025) youtube channel id: UCq4KIoyvZXuA7wJJQ2sqv3A
1
Sources
1.Stated in YouTube APIRetrieved 2025-03-10
View statement on Wikidata ↗
462,507(January 7, 2022) x (twitter) numeric user id: 24150634
19,700(January 13, 2024) youtube channel id: UCq4KIoyvZXuA7wJJQ2sqv3A
1
Sources
1.Stated in YouTube APIRetrieved 2024-01-13
View statement on Wikidata ↗
18,300(August 8, 2022) youtube channel id: UCq4KIoyvZXuA7wJJQ2sqv3A
505,285(August 8, 2022) x (twitter) numeric user id: 24150634
17,900(March 16, 2022) youtube channel id: UCq4KIoyvZXuA7wJJQ2sqv3A
429,246(January 1, 2021) x (twitter) numeric user id: 24150634
Short name: CdE
CoE
Official observer status in organization: World Intellectual Property Organization
1
Sources
1.wipo.int/members/en/organizations.jsp?type=IGO_R
View statement on Wikidata ↗
United Nations General Assembly
1
Sources
1.undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FRES%2F44%2F6&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False
View statement on Wikidata ↗
International Organization for Migration
1
Sources
1.iom.int/intergovernmental-organizations-observer-status
View statement on Wikidata ↗
International Maritime Organization
1
Sources
1.imo.org/en/ourwork/ero/pages/igoswithobserverstatus.aspx
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Formed in: London
1
Sources
1.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/dates.aspRetrieved 2025-05-06
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Partnership with: International Civil Aviation Organization
1
Sources
1.icao.int/about-icao/Pages/Invited-Organizations.aspx
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
1
Sources
1.aalco.int/agreements/Exchange%20of%20letter%20between%20AALCO%20and%20Council%20of%20Europe.pdf
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Members / parts: Albania(since 1995)
Andorra(since 1994)
Armenia(since 2001)
Austria(since 1956)
Azerbaijan(since 2001)
Belgium(since 1949)
Bosnia and Herzegovina(since 2002)
Bulgaria(since 1992)
Show 41 moreShow less
Croatia(since 1996)
Cyprus(since 1961)
Czech Republic(since 1993)
Czechoslovakia(1991–1992)
Denmark(since 1949)
Estonia(since 1993)
France(since 1949)
Georgia(since 1999)
Germany(since 1990)
Greece(since 1949)
Hungary(since 1990)
Iceland(since 1950)
Ireland(since 1949)
Italy(since 1949)
Latvia(since 1995)
Liechtenstein(since 1978)
Lithuania(since 1993)
Luxembourg(since 1949)
Malta(since 1965)
Moldova(since 1995)
Monaco(since 2004)
Montenegro(since 2007)
Netherlands(since 1949)
North Macedonia(since 1995)
Norway(since 1949)
Poland(since 1991)
Portugal(since 1976)
Romania(since 1993)
Russia(1996–2022)
San Marino(since 1988)
Saarland(1950–1957)
Serbia(since 2003)
Serbia and Montenegro(2003–2006)
Slovakia(since 1993)
Slovenia(since 1993)
Spain(since 1977)
Sweden(since 1949)
Switzerland(since 1963)
Turkey(since 1950)
Ukraine(since 1995)
United Kingdom(since 1949)

On other databases

101 identifiers linking Council of Europe across the web's reference databases

48.5949, 7.7719OpenStreetMap ↗

Data quality

218

statements

14%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 19, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). Council of Europe (Q8908). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/council-of-europe-Q8908