The IMF is an international organization of 185 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment. (See Purposes of the IMF in the Articles of Agreement.)
Since the IMF was established its purposes have remained unchanged but its operations—which involve surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance—have developed to meet the changing needs of its member countries in an evolving world economy.
The International Monetary Fund—also known as the “IMF” or the “Fund”—was conceived at a United Nations conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, U.S. in July 1944. The 45 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the vicious circle of competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
- Current membership: 186 countries
- Staff: approximately 2,490 from 143 countries
- Total Quotas: $352 billion (as of 5/31/08)
- Loans outstanding (as of 5/31/08): $19.4 billion to 65 countries, of which $6.4 billion to 57 countries on concessional terms
- Field delivery of technical assistance: 186.2 person years during FY2008
- Surveillance consultations concluded: 123 countries during FY2008, of which 115 voluntarily published information on their consultation. http://www.imf.org
Participating in Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 which is going to be held at Germany.
https://en.book-fair.com/networking/search_find/companies/result.aspx?dosearch=1&TAddress.Country=1444bc62-cd99-419f-bfda-16b9bde55862&Page=26
