G7 or G-7 or Group of Seven is the meeting of the finance ministers from the group of seven industrialized nations of the world formed in 1976 when Canada joined the Group of Six (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States of America). It is not to be confused with the G8 which is when the heads of state of the aforementioned nations plus Russia meet annually. That meeting is generally considered more important than the G7. The G-7 consists of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Canada. The finance ministers of these countries meet several times a year to discuss economic policy, to which Russia is not a party. Their work is supported by regular, functional meetings of officials, including the G-7 Finance Deputies. The most recent meeting was October 19-22, 2007.Reuters, "