Tag: World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development. The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group. It was established along with the International Monetary Fund at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. After a slow start, its first loan was to France in 1947. In its early years, it primarily focused on rebuilding Europe. Over time, it focused on providing loans to developing world countries. In the 1970s, the World Bank re-conceptualized its mission of facilitating development as being oriented around poverty reduction. For the last 30 years, it has included NGOs and environmental groups in its loan portfolio. Its loan strategy is influenced by environmental and social safeguards.

As of 2022, the World Bank is run by a president and 25 executive directors, as well as 29 various vice presidents. IBRD and IDA have 189 and 174 member countries, respectively. The U.S., Japan, China, Germany and the U.K. have the most voting power. The bank aims loans at developing countries to help reduce poverty. The bank is engaged in several global partnerships and initiatives, and takes a role in working toward addressing climate change. The World Bank hosts an Open Knowledge Repository for its publications.

In 2020, the World Bank’s total commitments amounted to USD 77.1 billion, it had 12,300 full-time staff, and it operated in 145 countries. World Bank projects cover a range of areas from building schools to fighting disease, providing water and electricity, and environmental protection, and as such, they are linked to most of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The World Bank has been criticized as promoting inflation and harming economic development. There has also been criticism of the bank's governance and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current president (starting in 2023) is Ajay Banga who is known to support climate action, unlike his predecessor David Malpass.