How many imf member countries

In addition, as a fund, it may offer financial assistance to nations in need of correcting balance of payment discrepancies.

The IMF is entrusted with nurturing economic growth and maintaining high levels of employment within countries. The IMF is funded by quota subscriptions paid by member states. The size of each quota is determined by the size of each member's economy. The quota in turn determines the weight each country has within the IMF — and hence its voting rights —as well as how much financing it can receive from the IMF.

Twenty-five percent of each country's quota is paid in the form of special drawing rights SDRs , which are a claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. Before SDRs, the Bretton Woods system had been based on a fixed exchange rate , and it was feared that there would not be enough reserves to finance global economic growth. They were created to supplement the international reserves of the time, which were gold and the U.

The SDR is not a currency; it is a unit of account by which member states can exchange with one another in order to settle international accounts. A country may do this when it has a deficit and needs more foreign currency to pay its international obligations.

Each member country is assigned a certain amount of SDRs based on how much the country contributes to the IMF which is based on the size of the country's economy.

However, the need for SDRs lessened when major economies dropped the fixed exchange rate and opted for floating rates instead. The value of the SDR is adjusted daily against a basket of currencies, which includes the U. The larger the country, the larger its contribution. Thus the U. If called upon by the IMF, a country can pay the rest of its quota in its local currency.

So far, SDR The IMF offers its assistance in the form of surveillance, which it conducts on a yearly basis for individual countries, regions, and the global economy as a whole. However, a country may ask for financial assistance if it finds itself in an economic crisis, whether caused by a sudden shock to its economy or poor macroeconomic planning.

A financial crisis will result in severe devaluation of the country's currency or a major depletion of the nation's foreign reserves. There are three more widely implemented facilities by which the IMF can lend its money.

A Stand-By Arrangement SBA offers financing of a short-term balance of payments, usually between 12 to 24 months, but no more than 36 months. The Extended Fund Facility EFF is a medium-term arrangement by which countries can borrow a certain amount of money, typically over four to 10 years. The EFF aims to address structural problems within the macroeconomy that are causing chronic balance of payment inequities. The structural problems are addressed through financial and tax sector reform and the privatization of public enterprises.

As the name implies, it aims to reduce poverty in the poorest of member countries while laying the foundations for economic development. Loans are administered with especially low interest rates. The IMF offers technical assistance to transitional economies in the changeover from centrally planned to market-run economies. The IMF also offers emergency funds to collapsed economies, as it did for South Korea during the financial crisis in Asia, which allowed it to avoid sovereign default.

Emergency funds can also be loaned to countries that have faced an economic crisis as a result of a natural disaster. All facilities of the IMF aim to create sustainable development within a country and try to create policies that will be accepted by the local population. However, the IMF is not an aid agency, so all loans are given on the condition that the country implements the SAPs and makes it a priority to pay back what it has borrowed.

Countries that are under IMF programs are typically developing, transitional, and emerging market countries countries that have faced financial crises. Because the IMF lends its money with "strings attached" in the form of its SAPs, many people and organizations are vehemently opposed to its activities. Opposition groups claim that structural adjustment is an undemocratic and inhumane means of loaning funds to countries facing economic failure. Debtor countries to the IMF are often faced with having to put financial concerns ahead of social ones.

Thus, by being required to open up their economies to foreign investment , privatize public enterprises, and cut government spending, these countries suffer an inability to properly fund their education and health programs.

Moreover, foreign corporations often exploit the situation by taking advantage of local cheap labor while showing no regard for the environment. The oppositional groups say that locally cultivated programs, with a more grassroots approach towards development, would provide greater relief to these economies.

Critics of the IMF say that, as it stands now, the IMF is only deepening the rift between the wealthy and the poor nations of the world. The IMF greatly helped Latin American countries in the s during its debt crisis, helping nations overcome the financial difficulties and turning around their economies. Today, it has helped with policy advice, technical assistance, and financing.

The primary responsibility of the World Bank is to aid developing nations in reducing their poverty and increasing their well-being. The IMF's main purpose is to stabilize the international monetary system and oversee the world's currencies. The World Bank provides "financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments, and also focuses on strengthening the private sector in developing countries. The IMF keeps track of the economy globally and in member countries, lends to countries with balance of payment difficulties, and gives practical help to members.

The IMF consists of countries out of the in the world. According to the IMF, its mandate includes "facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade. The IMF grant "supports charities in the Washington DC metro area and in IMF member countries abroad through annual monetary grants, which focus primarily on fostering economic independence through education and economic development.

Providing assistance with development is an ever-evolving and dynamic endeavor. While the international system aims to create a balanced global economy, it should strive to address local needs and solutions. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the benefits that can be achieved by learning from others.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. International Monetary Fund. Accessed May 10, Federation of American Scientists. Congressional Research Service. The Guardian. The World Bank. You have clicked on a link to a page that is not part of the beta version of the new worldbank. Will you take two minutes to complete a brief survey that will help us to improve our website? Thank you for agreeing to provide feedback on the new version of worldbank. Thank you for participating in this survey!

Your feedback is very helpful to us as we work to improve the site functionality on worldbank. Working for a World Free of Poverty. Who We Are Organization.

Boards of Governors. Boards of Directors. Organizational Units. Office of the President. Voting Powers. Member Countries. Stay Connected Facebook. Browse by Organization. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development countries. Cancel No Thanks Yes, I'll provide feedback. What was the purpose of your visit to worldbank.