An international organisation, or more formally intergovernmental organisation (IGO), is an organization, such as the European Community or World Trade Organization, with sovereign states or other IGOs as members.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are private organizations that can also be international in scope. Generally and correctly used, however, the term "international organization" is reserved for intergovernmental organizations only. It is in this sense that the term is used in the remainder of this article.