Size of the credit union

There is strong shift today toward smaller numbers of credit union. For example the number of associations reached an all-time high in 1969 at almost 24,000 and now totals less than 22,000. Meanwhile, the average credit union has increased significantly in size. For example, in 1970 only about one sixth of the nation‘s credit unions held more than $1 million in assets, but today that figure exceeds 40 percent.
The average-size credit union remains relatively small compared with other depository financial institutions, however. Nevertheless, credit union membership continues to grow rapidly, increasing about 3 million a year. There were fewer than 5 million U.S. credit union members in 1950, but this total exceeded 45 million in 1980. Worldwide, there are more than 55 million members associated with 45,000 credit unions operating in 69 countries.