View source for World Bank Group

{{Short description|Group making loans to developing countries}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Infobox organization
| logo                = World Bank Group logo.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| image               = The World Bank Group (53844804648).jpg
| caption             = The World Bank Group building (Washington, D.C.)
| map                 = 
| established         = {{start date and age|1944|07|4|df=y}}
| extinction          = 
| type                = [[Intergovernmental organization]]
| status              = Treaty
| purpose             = [[Economic development]], [[extreme poverty|poverty]] elimination
| headquarters        = 1818 [[H Street (Washington, D.C.)|H Street Northwest]],<br/>[[Washington D.C.]], U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the World Bank |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/about |website=World Bank}}</ref>
| leader_title        = [[President of the World Bank Group|President]]
| leader_name         = [[Ajay Banga]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=U.S. Businessman Ajay Banga Approved to Lead World Bank|work=scroll.in |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-businessman-ajay-banga-approved-to-lead-world-bank-adb5f1ad |access-date=19 June 2023}}</ref>
| leader_title2       = MD & CFO
| leader_name2        = [[Anshula Kant]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/sbi-md-anshula-kant-appointed-as-md-cfo-of-world-bank-group/1599829964995 |access-date=13 July 2019 |website=antopedia.org|title=SBI MD Anshula Kant appointed as MD, CFO of World Bank Group }}</ref>
| main_organ          = Board of Directors<ref>{{Cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/BODEXT/0,,pagePK:1262504318911~theSitePK:281079,00.html |access-date=31 May 2010 |publisher=Web.worldbank.org }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
| parent_organization = [[United Nations]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN System | url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-system |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref>
| num_members         = 189 states (188 [[United Nations member states|UN countries]] and [[Kosovo]])<ref name="WBG Member Countries">{{Cite web |title=Member Countries |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members |access-date=3 June 2016 |publisher=World Bank Group}}</ref> - see [[List of World Bank members]]
| website             = {{URL|https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/home|worldbank.org}}
}}
{{United Nations series}}
The '''World Bank Group''' ('''WBG''') is a family of five international organizations that make [[Leverage (finance)|leveraged loans]] to [[developing countries]]. The group is the largest development bank in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RDSI Sign Gold |url=http://www.antopedia.org/index.cfm?P=13 |access-date=27 May 2012 |publisher=United Nations Development Group}}{{dead link|date=December 2021}}</ref> It is headquartered in [[Washington, D.C.]], in the [[United States]]. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity.<ref name="bicusa1">{{Cite web |date=2014-08-01 |title=World Bank Group Commitments Rise Sharply in FY14 Amid Organizational Change |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/07/01/world-bank-group-commitments-rise-sharply-in-fy14-amid-organizational-change |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=World Bank |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |publisher=World Bank |date=14 October 2008 |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/about |access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> Historically, within the group, the IBRD and IDA were collectively known as the '''World Bank''' due to their emphasis on global lending.

The World Bank was established along with the [[International Monetary Fund]] at the 1944 [[Bretton Woods Conference]]. Initially, its loans helped rebuild countries devastated by [[World War II]]. Over time, it has shifted its focus to development, with a stated mission of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Finnemore |first=Martha |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1rv61rh |title=National Interests in International Society |date=1996 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9780801483233 |pages=89–97 |jstor=10.7591/j.ctt1rv61rh |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601221422/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1rv61rh |archive-date=1 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has been criticized for it's [[structural adjustment]] programs, governence, environmental record, and policies detrimental to the social welfare.<ref name="Cornia et al. 1987">{{Cite book |title=Adjustment with a Human Face: Protecting the Vulnerable and Promoting Growth |editor=Cornia, Giovanni Andrea |editor2=Jolly, Richard |editor3=Stewart, Frances |year=1987 |publisher=Oxford University Press USA |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-828609-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/adjustmentwithhu0001unse}}</ref><ref name="AP News">{{cite news |title=Inquiry puts ex-World Bank officials under scrutiny on China |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-china-world-bank-jim-yong-kim-aee690d7ec87d9bbd4d36cc5fcfa7018 |work=AP News |date=17 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925011937/https://apnews.com/article/business-china-world-bank-jim-yong-kim-aee690d7ec87d9bbd4d36cc5fcfa7018 |archive-date= 25 September 2023 }}</ref>

The group comprises five organizations, as established over time:

* [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (IBRD), 1944
* [[International Development Association]] (IDA), 1960
* [[International Finance Corporation]] (IFC), 1956
* [[International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes]] (ICSID), 1965
* [[Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency]] (MIGA), 1988

==History==

[[File:WhiteandKeynes.jpg|thumb|[[Harry Dexter White]] (left) and [[John Maynard Keynes]], the "founding fathers" of both the World Bank and the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF)<ref name="Bretton Woods Founding Fathers 2004">{{cite web |title=The Founding Fathers |publisher=International Monetary Fund |url=http://jolis.worldbankimflib.org/Bwf/60panel3.htm |access-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822023626/http://jolis.worldbankimflib.org/Bwf/60panel3.htm |archive-date=22 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]

The World Bank was created at the 1944 [[Bretton Woods Conference]] (1–22 July 1944), along with the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF). The president of the World Bank is traditionally an [[United States|American]].<ref>{{cite news| last1=Higgins | first1=Andrew | last2=Sanger | first2=David E. | title=3 European Powers Say They Will Join China-Led Bank | newspaper=The New York Times | date=17 March 2015 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/business/france-germany-and-italy-join-asian-infrastructure-investment-bank.html }}</ref> The World Bank and the IMF are both based in Washington, D.C., and work closely with each other.
[[File:Gold Room, Mount Washington Hotel.jpg|thumb|The Gold Room at the [[Mount Washington Hotel]] where the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were established]]
Although many countries were represented at the Bretton Woods Conference, the United States and United Kingdom were the most powerful in attendance and dominated the negotiations.<ref name="Goldman 2005">{{cite book |title=Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization |url=https://archive.org/details/imperialnaturewo0000gold |url-access=registration |author=Goldman, Michael |year=2005 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |location=New Haven, CT |isbn=978-0-300-11974-9}}</ref>{{rp|52–54}} The intention behind the founding of the World Bank was to provide temporary loans to low-income countries that could not obtain loans commercially.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Clemens|first1=Michael A.|last2=Kremer|first2=Michael|date=2016|title=The New Role for the World Bank|journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives|language=en|volume=30|issue=1|pages=53–76|doi=10.1257/jep.30.1.53|issn=0895-3309|doi-access=free}}</ref> The bank may also make loans and demand policy reforms from recipients.<ref name=":0" />
 
The agreement at Bretton Woods implied that both the World Bank and IMF would be headquartered in the United States. US Treasury Secretary [[Henry Morgenthau Jr.]] intended them to be located in [[New York City|New York]], but his successor [[Fred M. Vinson]] unilaterally decided that they would be in [[Washington, D.C.]] instead, noting that "the institutions would be fatally prejudiced in American opinion if they were placed in New York, since they would then come under the taint of 'international finance'".<ref>{{cite book |title=Global Capital Markets: Integration, Crisis, and Growth |author=Maurice Obstfeld & Alan M. Taylor |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2004}}</ref>{{rp|151}} The World Bank Group came into formal existence on 27 December 1946, following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements. The Conference also provided the foundation of the Osiander Committee in 1951, responsible for the preparation and evaluation of the [[World Development Report]]. Commencing operations on 25 June 1946, the bank approved its first loan on 9 May 1947 (US$250 million to France for postwar reconstruction - in real terms, the largest loan the bank has issued to date).

{{anchor|Early History|1944|1974|1944-1974}}
In its early years, the bank made a slow start for two reasons: it was underfunded, and there were leadership struggles between the US executive director and the president of the organization. When the [[Marshall Plan]] went into effect in 1947, many European countries began receiving aid from other sources. Faced with this competition, the World Bank shifted its focus to non-European allies. Until 1968, its loans were earmarked for the construction of infrastructure works, such as seaports, highway systems, and power plants, that would generate enough income to enable a borrower country to repay the loan. In 1960, the [[International Development Association]] was formed (as opposed to a UN fund named SUNFED), providing soft loans to developing countries.

Before 1974, the reconstruction and development loans the World Bank made were relatively small. Its staff was aware of the need to instill confidence in the bank. [[Fiscal conservatism]] ruled, and loan applications had to meet strict criteria.<ref name="Goldman 2005" />{{rp|56–60}}

The first country to receive a World Bank loan was France in 1947. The bank's president at the time, [[John J. McCloy|John McCloy]], chose France over two other applicants, Poland and Chile. The loan was for US$250&nbsp;million, half the amount requested, and came with strict conditions. France had to agree to produce a balanced budget and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other governments. World Bank staff closely monitored the use of the funds to ensure that the French government met the conditions. In addition, before the loan was approved, the [[United States Department of State]] told the French government that its members associated with the Communist Party would first have to be removed. The French government complied and removed the [[Communist Party of France|Communist]] coalition government—the so-called [[Tripartisme|tripartite]]. Within hours, the loan to France was approved.<ref name="Bird 1992">{{cite book |title=The Chairman: John J. McCloy, the Making of the American Establishment |author=Bird, Kai |year=1992 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-671-45415-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/chairmanjohnjmc00bird}}{{rp|288, 290–291}}</ref>

From 1974 to 1980, the bank concentrated on meeting the basic needs of people in the developing world. The size and number of loans to borrowers greatly increased, as loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and other sectors.<ref name="World Bank Historical Chronology 1970-1979">{{cite web |title=World Bank Historical Chronology: 1970–1979 |publisher=World Bank Group |author=World Bank |url=http://go.worldbank.org/847R4CBE80 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20111113144021/http://go.worldbank.org/847R4CBE80 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 November 2011 |access-date=31 May 2012 }}</ref>

These changes can be attributed to [[Robert McNamara]], who was appointed to the presidency in 1968 by [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Goldman 2005" />{{rp|60–63}} McNamara implored bank treasurer [[Eugene Rotberg]] to seek out new sources of capital outside of the northern banks that had been the primary sources of funding. Rotberg used the global bond market to increase the capital available to the bank.<ref name="Rotberg 1994">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Financial Operations of the World Bank |author=Rotberg, Eugene |encyclopedia=Bretton Woods: looking to the future: commission report, staff review, background papers |year=1994 |publisher=Bretton Woods Commission |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://external.worldbankimflib.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/5/?searchdata1=219610%7Bckey%7D#_ |access-date=13 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705163027/http://external.worldbankimflib.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/5/?searchdata1=219610%7Bckey%7D#_ |archive-date=5 July 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> One consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rapid rise of [[debt of developing countries]]. From 1976 to 1980, developing world debt rose at an average annual rate of 20%.<ref name="Mosley et al. 1995">{{cite book |title=Aid and Power: The World Bank and Policy-Based Lending, 2nd Edition |author=Mosley, Paul |author2=Harrigan, Jane |author3=Toye, John |year=1995 |volume=1 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, UK |isbn=978-0-415-13209-1}}</ref><ref name="Toussaint 1999">{{cite book |title=Your Money or Your Life!: The Tyranny of Global Finance |author=Toussaint, Eric |year=1999 |publisher=Pluto Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-7453-1412-9}}</ref>

The World Bank Administrative Tribunal was established in 1980, to decide on disputes between the World Bank Group and its staff where allegation of non-observance of contracts of employment or terms of appointment had not been honored.<ref name="World Bank Admin Tribunal 2012">{{cite web | title = World Bank Administrative Tribunal | publisher = World Bank Group | author = World Bank | url = http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/crn/wbt/wbtwebsite.nsf/%28resultsweb%29/about?opendocument | access-date = 14 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111229110521/http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/crn/wbt/wbtwebsite.nsf/%28resultsweb%29/about?opendocument | archive-date = 29 December 2011 | url-status=dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

McNamara was succeeded by U.S. [[President of the United States|President]] [[Jimmy Carter]]'s nominee, [[Alden W. Clausen]], in 1980.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/business/aw-clausen-former-bank-of-america-chief-dies-at-89.html |date=25 January 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |title=A.W. Clausen, Former Bank of America Chief, Dies at 89 |author=NELSON D. SCHWARTZ |access-date=27 October 2016 |quote=Mr. Clausen was chosen by President Jimmy Carter to lead the World Bank shortly before Mr. Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1980, but the new administration supported Mr. Clausen's nomination.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tom-Clausen-BofA-World-Bank-head-dies-4218430.php |title=Tom Clausen, BofA, World Bank head, dies |publisher=SFGate |access-date=27 October 2016 |quote=That focus paid dividends when President Jimmy Carter nominated him in 1980 to succeed Robert McNamara as president of the World Bank. |date=23 January 2013}}</ref> Clausen replaced many members of McNamara's staff and crafted a different mission emphasis. His 1982 decision to replace the bank's Chief Economist, [[Hollis B. Chenery]], with [[Anne Krueger]] was an example of this new focus. Krueger was known for her criticism of development funding and for describing developing countries' governments as "[[rent-seeking]] states".

During the 1980s, the bank emphasized lending to service debt of developing countries, and [[structural adjustment]] policies designed to streamline the economies of developing nations. [[UNICEF]] reported in the late 1980s that the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank had been responsible for "reduced health, nutritional and educational levels for tens of millions of children in [[Asia]], [[Latin America]], and [[Africa]]".<ref name="Cornia et al. 1987"/>

==Membership==
{{Main|List of World Bank members}}
[[File:World Bank Group.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|World Bank Group: {{legend|#008000|Member states of all five WBG organizations}} {{legend|#00FF00|Member states of four WBG organizations}} {{legend|#00FFFF|Member states of three WBG organizations}} {{legend|#0000FF|Member states of two WBG organizations}}{{legend|#800080|Member states only of the IBRD}}]]

The [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (IBRD) has 189 member countries, while the [[International Development Association]] (IDA) has 175. Each member state of IBRD should also be a member of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) and only members of IBRD are allowed to join other institutions within the bank (such as IDA).<ref name="Member Countries">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members |title=Member Countries |accessdate=2 January 2022 |website=worldbank.org}}</ref> The five United Nations member states that are not members of the World Bank are [[Andorra]], [[Cuba]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Monaco]], and [[North Korea]]. [[Kosovo]] is not a member of the UN, but is a member of the [[IMF]] and the World Bank Group, including the IBRD and IDA. Other non-members are [[Palestine]], the [[Holy See]] ([[Vatican City]]), Taiwan, and the following de facto states: [[Abkhazia]], [[Northern Cyprus]], the [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]], [[Somaliland]], [[South Ossetia]], and [[Transnistria]].

The [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] joined the World Bank on 27 December 1945.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members|title=Member Countries|website=World Bank|language=en|access-date=10 December 2019}}</ref> After the [[Chinese Civil War]], the government fled to Taiwan and continued its membership in the WBG until 16 April 1980, when the People's Republic of China replaced the ROC. Since then, it uses the name "[[Taiwan, China]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/country/TW|title = Taiwan, China &#124; Data}}</ref>

All of the [[member states of the United Nations|188 UN members]] and [[Kosovo]] that are WBG members participate at a minimum in the IBRD. As of May 2016, all of them also participate in some of the other four organizations (IDA, IFC, MIGA, and ICSID).

WBG members by the number of organizations in which they participate:<ref name="WBG Member Countries" />
#Only in the IBRD: 
#The IBRD and one other organization: [[Nauru]], [[San Marino]]
#The IBRD and two other organizations: [[Antigua and Barbuda]], [[Brunei]], [[Kiribati]], [[Marshall Islands]], [[Namibia]], [[Tuvalu]], [[Venezuela]]
#The IBRD and three other organizations: India, Mexico, Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, South Africa, Seychelles, Libya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, Malta, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Palau, Tonga, Vanuatu, Maldives, Bhutan, Myanmar, Suriname
#All five WBG organizations: the rest of the 139 WBG members

===Voting power===
In 2010, voting powers at the World Bank were revised to increase the voice of developing countries, notably [[China]]. The countries with most voting power are now the United States (15.85%), Japan (6.84%), China (4.42%), [[Germany]] (4.00%), the [[United Kingdom]] (3.75%), [[France]] (3.75%), [[India]] (2.91%),<ref>{{cite news|title=Developing nations get more say in World Bank affairs|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Developing-nations-get-more-say-in-World-Bank-affairs/articleshow/5858176.cms|access-date=5 April 2014|newspaper=The Times of India|date=26 April 2010}}</ref> [[Russia]] (2.77%), [[Saudi Arabia]] (2.77%) and [[Italy]] (2.64%). Under the changes, known as 'Voice Reform – Phase 2', countries other than China that saw significant gains included [[South Korea]], [[Turkey]], [[Mexico]], [[Singapore]], [[Greece]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Hungary]], [[Brazil]], India, and [[Spain]]. Most developed countries' voting power was reduced, along with a few developing countries such as [[Nigeria]]. The voting powers of the [[United States]], Russia and Saudi Arabia remained unchanged.<ref name="IBRD Voting Power Realignment 2010">{{Cite report | title = IBRD 2010 Voting Power Realignment | publisher = World Bank Group | date = 2010 | author = International Bank for Reconstruction and Development | url = http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Resources/IBRD2010VotingPowerRealignmentFINAL.pdf | access-date = 14 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111229201102/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Resources/IBRD2010VotingPowerRealignmentFINAL.pdf | archive-date = 29 December 2011 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Veloo 2010">{{Cite news | title = China given more influence in World Bank | author = Veloo, Betsy May | date = 26 April 2010 | publisher = RTHK | url = http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/news.htm?main&20100426&56&663699 | access-date = 26 April 2010 | archive-date = 5 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605192408/http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/news.htm?main&20100426&56&663699 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The changes were brought about to make voting more universal in regards to standards, rule-based objective indicators, and transparency among other things. Now, developing countries have an increased voice in the "Pool Model", backed especially by Europe. Additionally, voting power is based on economic size in addition to the International Development Association contributions.<ref name="Stumm 2011">{{Cite news | title = World Bank: More responsibility for developing countries | author = Stumm, Mario | date = March 2011 | publisher = D+C | url = http://www.dandc.eu/articles/193054/index.en.shtml | access-date = 12 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130511192641/http://www.dandc.eu/articles/193054/index.en.shtml | archive-date = 11 May 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref>

=== List of 20 largest countries by voting power in each World Bank institution ===
The following table shows the subscriptions of the top 20 member countries of the World Bank by voting power in the following World Bank institutions as of December 2014 or March 2015: the [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (IBRD), the [[International Finance Corporation]] (IFC), the [[International Development Association]] (IDA), and the [[Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency]] (MIGA). Member countries are allocated votes at the time of membership and subsequently for additional subscriptions to capital (one vote for each share of capital stock held by the member).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/IBRDCountryVotingTable.pdf |title=International Bank for Reconstruction and Development |date=March 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=25 October 2014 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906093100/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/IBRDCountryVotingTable.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/IFCCountryVotingTable.pdf |title=International Finance Corporation |date=March 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906192909/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/IFCCountryVotingTable.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/IDACountryVotingTable.pdf |title=International Development Association |date=December 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906164130/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/IDACountryVotingTable.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/MIGACountryVotingTable.pdf |title=Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency |date=December 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906191601/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BODINT/Resources/278027-1215524804501/MIGACountryVotingTable.pdf }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|+ The 20 Largest Countries by Voting Power (Number of Votes)
! Rank !! Country !! [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]] !! Country !! [[International Finance Corporation|IFC]] !! Country !! [[International Development Association|IDA]] !! Country !! [[Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency|MIGA]]
|-
| || align="left" |'''''World''''' || 2,201,754 || align="left" |'''''World''''' || 2,653,476 || align="left" |'''''World''''' || 24,682,951 || align="left" |'''''World''''' || 218,237
|-
| 1 || align="left" |{{Flag|United States}} || 358,498 || align="left" |{{Flag|United States}} || 570,179 || align="left" |{{Flag|United States}}|| 2,546,503 || align="left" |{{Flag|United States}} || 32,790
|-
| 2 || align="left" |{{Flag|Japan}} || 166,094 || align="left" | {{Flag|Japan}}|| 163,334 || align="left" | {{Flag|Japan}}|| 2,112,243 || align="left" | {{Flag|Japan}}|| 9,205
|-
| 3 || align="left" |{{Flag|China}} || 107,244 || align="left" |{{Flag|Germany}} || 129,708 || align="left" |{{Flag|United Kingdom}} || 1,510,934 || align="left" |{{Flag|Germany}} || 9,162
|-
| 4 || align="left" |{{flag|Germany}} || 97,224 || align="left" |{{flag|France}} || 121,815 || align="left" |{{flag|Germany}} || 1,368,001 || align="left" |{{flag|France}} || 8,791
|-
| 5 || align="left" |{{flag|France}} || 87,241 || align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom}} || 121,815 || align="left" |{{flag|France}} || 908,843 || align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom}} || 8,791
|-
| 6 || align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom}} || 87,241 || align="left" |{{flag|India}} || 103,747 || align="left" |{{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || 810,293 || align="left" |{{flag|China }}|| 5,756
|-
| 7 || align="left" |{{flag|India}} || 67,690 || align="left" |{{flag|Russia}} || 103,653 || align="left" |{{flag|India}} || 661,909 || align="left" |{{flag|Russia}} || 5,754
|-
| 8 || align="left" |{{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || 67,155 || align="left" |{{flag|Canada}} || 82,142 || align="left" |{{flag|Canada}} || 629,658 || align="left" |{{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || 5,754
|-
| 9 || align="left" |{{flag|Canada}} || 59,004 || align="left" |{{flag|Italy}} || 82,142 || align="left" |{{flag|Italy}} || 573,858 || align="left" |{{flag|India}} || 5,597
|-
| 10 || align="left" |{{flag|Italy}} || 54,877 || align="left" |{{flag|China}} || 62,392 || align="left" |{{flag|China}} || 521,830 || align="left" |{{flag|Canada}} || 5,451
|-
| 11 || align="left" |{{flag|Russia}} || 54,651 || align="left" |{{flag|Netherlands}} || 56,931 || align="left" |{{flag|Poland}} || 498,102 || align="left" |{{flag|Italy}} || 5,196
|-
| 12 || align="left" |{{flag|Spain}} || 42,948 || align="left" |{{flag|Belgium}} || 51,410 || align="left" |{{flag|Sweden}} || 494,360 || align="left" |{{flag|Netherlands}} || 4,048
|-
| 13 || align="left" |{{flag|Brazil}} || 42,613 || align="left" |{{flag|Australia}} || 48,129 || align="left" |{{flag|Netherlands}} || 488,209 || align="left" |{{flag|Belgium}} || 3,803
|-
| 14 || align="left" |{{flag|Netherlands}} || 42,348 || align="left" |{{flag|Switzerland}} || 44,863 || align="left" |{{flag|Brazil}} || 412,322 || align="left" |{{flag|Australia}} || 3,245
|-
| 15 || align="left" |{{flag|South Korea}} || 36,591 || align="left" |{{flag|Brazil}} || 40,279 || align="left" |{{flag|Australia}} || 312,566 || align="left" |{{flag|Switzerland}} || 2,869
|-
| 16 || align="left" |{{flag|Belgium}} || 36,463 || align="left" |{{flag|Mexico}} || 38,929 || align="left" |{{flag|Switzerland}} || 275,755 || align="left" |{{flag|Brazil }}|| 2,832
|-
| 17 || align="left" |{{flag|Iran}} || 34,718 || align="left" |{{flag|Spain}} || 37,826 || align="left" |{{flag|Belgium}}|| 275,474 || align="left" |{{flag|Spain}} || 2,491
|-
| 18 || align="left" |{{flag|Switzerland}} || 33,296 || align="left" |{{flag|Indonesia}} || 32,402 || align="left" |{{flag|Norway}} || 258,209 || align="left" |{{flag|Argentina}} || 2,436
|-
| 19 || align="left" |{{flag|Australia}} || 30,910 || align="left" |{{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || 30,862 || align="left" |{{flag|Denmark}}|| 231,685 || align="left" |{{flag|Indonesia}} || 2,075
|-
| 20 || align="left" |{{flag|Turkey}} || 26,293 || align="left" |{{flag|South Korea}}|| 28,895 || align="left" |{{flag|Pakistan}} || 218,506 || align="left" |{{flag|Sweden}} || 2,075
|}

==Organizational structure==
[[File:World Bank headquarters building, Washington, D.C LCCN2011633462.tif|thumb|The World Bank Group Building in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[File:The World Bank Group.jpg|thumb|The World Bank Sign on the building]]
Together with four affiliated agencies created between 1957 and 1988, the IBRD is part of the World Bank Group. The group's headquarters are in [[Washington, D.C.]] It is an international organization owned by member governments; although it makes profits, they are used to support continued efforts in [[poverty reduction]].<ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTSITETOOLS/0,,contentMDK:20147466~menuPK:344189~pagePK:98400~piPK:98424~theSitePK:95474,00.html#13 FAQ-About The World Bank] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312012211/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTSITETOOLS/0,,contentMDK:20147466~menuPK:344189~pagePK:98400~piPK:98424~theSitePK:95474,00.html#13 |date=12 March 2013 }}, Worldbank.org.</ref>

Technically the World Bank is part of the United Nations system,<ref>[http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/mun/docs/unsystem.jpg The United Nations system: Principal Organs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231222/http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/mun/docs/unsystem.jpg |date=3 March 2016 }}, Colorado.edu.</ref> but its governance structure is different: each institution in the World Bank Group is owned by its member governments, which subscribe to its basic share capital, with votes proportional to shareholding. Membership gives certain voting rights that are the same for all countries but there are also additional votes that depend on financial contributions to the organization. The president of the World Bank is nominated by the president of the United States and elected by the bank's Board of Governors.<ref name=WBA/> As of 15 November 2009, the United States held 16.4% of total votes, Japan 7.9%, Germany 4.5%, the United Kingdom 4.3%, and France 4.3%. As changes to the bank's Charter require an 85% supermajority, the U.S. can block any major change in the bank's governing structure.<ref>[http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/2003/0626blocks.htm US Blocks Stronger African Voice At World Bank]  Retrieved 7 August 2007.</ref> Because the U.S. exerts formal and informal influence over the bank as a result of its vote share, control over the presidency, and the bank's headquarters location in Washington, D.C., friends and allies of the U.S. receive more projects with more lenient terms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clark |first=Richard |last2=Dolan |first2=Lindsay R. |date=January 2021 |title=Pleasing the Principal: U.S. Influence in World Bank Policymaking |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12531 |journal=American Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=36–51 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12531 |issn=0092-5853}}</ref>

===World Bank Group agencies===
The World Bank Group consists of
* the [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (IBRD), established in 1944, which provides debt financing based on sovereign guarantees;
* the [[International Finance Corporation]] (IFC), established in 1956, which provides various forms of financing without sovereign guarantees, primarily to the private sector;
* the [[International Development Association]] (IDA), established in 1960, which provides concessional financing (interest-free loans or grants), usually with sovereign guarantees;
* the [[International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes]] (ICSID), established in 1965, which works with governments to reduce investment risk;
* the [[Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency]] (MIGA), established in 1988, which provides insurance against certain types of risk, including political risk, primarily to the private sector.

The term "World Bank" generally refers to just the IBRD and IDA, whereas the term "World Bank Group" or "WBG" is used to refer to all five institutions collectively.<ref name="WBA">[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:20040580~menuPK:1696997~pagePK:51123644~piPK:329829~theSitePK:29708,00.html "About Us"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611073612/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:20040580~menuPK:1696997~pagePK:51123644~piPK:329829~theSitePK:29708,00.html |date=11 June 2012 }}, ''wordbank.org'', accessed 30 May 2007.</ref>

The [[World Bank Institute]] is the capacity development branch of the World Bank, providing learning and other capacity-building programs to member countries.

The IBRD has 189 member governments, and the other institutions have between 153 and 184.<ref name="WBG Member Countries" /> The institutions of the World Bank Group are all run by a board of governors meeting once a year.<ref name=WBA/> Each member country appoints a governor, generally its minister of finance. Daily, the World Bank Group is run by a board of 25 executive directors to whom the governors have delegated certain powers. Each director represents either one country (for the largest countries), or a group of countries. Executive directors are appointed by their respective governments or the constituencies.<ref name=WBA/>

The agencies of the World Bank are each governed by their Articles of Agreement that serves as the legal and institutional foundation for all their work.<ref name=WBA/>

The activities of the [[International Finance Corporation|IFC]] and [[Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency|MIGA]] include investment in the private sector and providing insurance, respectively.

===Presidency===
Traditionally, the bank president has been a U.S. citizen nominated by the president of the United States, the bank's largest shareholder. The nominee is subject to confirmation by the executive directors, to serve a five-year, renewable term.<ref name=WBA/>

====Current president====
[[Ajay Banga]] is the current and 14th [[president of the World Bank Group]].

===Managing director===
The World Bank Group has several Managing Directors, each with different areas of responsibility. These responsibilities include organizational strategy; budget and strategic planning; information technology; shared services; Corporate Procurement; General Services and Corporate Security; the Sanctions System; and the Conflict Resolution and Internal Justice System.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank Group Leadership |url=https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/who-we-are/leadership |website=World Bank Group |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>

===Extractive Industries Review===
After longstanding criticisms from civil society of the bank's involvement in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, the World Bank in July 2001 launched an independent review called the ''Extractive Industries Review'' (EIR—not to be confused with [[Environmental impact assessment|Environmental Impact Report]]). The review was headed by an "Eminent Person", [[Emil Salim]] (former Environment Minister of Indonesia). Salim held consultations with a wide range of stakeholders in 2002 and 2003. The EIR recommendations were published in January 2004 in a final report, "Striking a Better Balance".<ref name="SBB">[http://go.worldbank.org/PIW55278X0 "Striking a Better Balance"], ''worldbank.org'', January 2004, accessed 30 May 2007.</ref> The report concluded that fossil fuel and mining projects do not alleviate poverty, and recommended that World Bank involvement with these sectors be phased out by 2008 to be replaced by investment in [[renewable energy]] and [[Sustainable energy|clean energy]]. The World Bank published its Management Response to the EIR in September 2004<ref>[http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTOGMC/Resources/finaleirmanagementresponse.pdf "Striking a Better Balance"], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051113021620/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTOGMC/Resources/finaleirmanagementresponse.pdf |date=13 November 2005 }}, "World Bank Group Management Response" to "The World Bank Group and Extractive Industries: The Final Report of the Extractive Industries Review: World Bank Group Management Response",17 September 2004, accessed 30 May 2007.</ref> after extensive discussions with the board of directors. The Management Response did not accept many of the EIR report's conclusions, but the EIR served to alter the World Bank's policies on oil, gas, and mining in important ways, as the World Bank documented in a recent follow-up report.<ref name="OGMC">[http://go.worldbank.org/BE8FH2VK40 "Oil, Gas, Mining, and Chemicals" (follow up report)]{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, accessed 30 May 2007.</ref> One area of particular controversy concerned the rights of indigenous peoples. Critics point out that the Management Response weakened a key recommendation that indigenous peoples and affected communities should have to provide 'consent for projects to proceed; instead, there would be 'consultation'.<ref>[http://www.newint.org/columns/currents/2004/11/01/sustainability/index.php "The Energy Tug of War"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183611/http://www.newint.org/columns/currents/2004/11/01/sustainability/index.php |date=30 September 2007 }}, ''[[The New Internationalist]]'', No. 373 (November 2004), accessed 30 May 2007.<!--This citation was to a vague index and not to a specific article; what source at this site? The URL given pointed to a webpage headed "Hannah Arendt" with an index of items none of which seemed to pertain.???--></ref> Following the EIR process, the World Bank issued a revised Policy on Indigenous Peoples.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080507073514/http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/Institutional/Manuals/OpManual.nsf/B52929624EB2A3538525672E00775F66/0F7D6F3F04DD70398525672C007D08ED?OpenDocument "World Bank Operational Manual: Operational Policies: Indigenous Peoples" (Op 4.10)], ''worldbank.org'', July 2005, accessed 30 May 2007. Archived version from 7 May 2008</ref>

== Methods ==
The World Bank plays a significant role in global economic governance due to its broad mandate, its vast resource base, its frequent and regular interactions with governments as clients, and its many publications and databases.<ref name=":1" /> In 2020, the World Bank's total commitments amounted to USD 77.1 billion and it operated in 145 countries.<ref name=":1" /> World Bank projects cover a range of areas from building schools to fighting disease, [[WASH|providing water]] and electricity, and environmental protection.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=van Driel |first1=Melanie |last2=Biermann |first2=Frank |last3=Vijge |first3=Marjanneke J |last4=Kim |first4=Rakhyun E|date=2023|title=How the World Bank Engages with the Sustainable Development Goal on Reducing Inequalities: A Case of Organizational Jiu-Jitsu|url=https://academic.oup.com/isagsq/article/doi/10.1093/isagsq/ksad035/7223538 |journal=Global Studies Quarterly|language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |article-number=ksad035 |doi=10.1093/isagsq/ksad035 |issn=2634-3797|doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]</ref>

As a guideline to the World Bank's operations in any particular country, a Country Assistance Strategy is produced in cooperation with the local government and any interested stakeholders and may rely on analytical work performed by the bank or other parties.

The World Bank's [[negative pledge]] clause prohibits its debtor countries from using public assets to repay other creditors before they repay the World Bank.<ref name=":Chen">{{Cite book |last=Chen |first=Muyang |title=The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance |date=2024 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |isbn=9781501775857 |location=Ithaca and London |jstor=10.7591/jj.6230186}}</ref>{{Rp|page=134}}

=== Environmental and social safeguards ===
To ensure that World Bank-financed operations do not compromise these goals but instead add to their realisation, the following environmental, social, and legal safeguards were defined: Environmental Assessment, Indigenous Peoples, Involuntary Resettlement, Physical Cultural Resources, Forests, Natural Habitats, Pest Management, Safety of Dams, Projects in Disputed Areas, Projects on International Waterways, and Performance Standards for Private Sector Activities.<ref>{{cite web |author=The World Bank |title=Environmental and Social Policies |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-policies#safeguards |access-date=4 December 2020 |publisher=World Bank Group}}</ref>

At the World Bank's 2012 annual meeting in Tokyo, a review of these safeguards was initiated, which was welcomed by several civil society organisations.<ref>{{cite web |author=Korinna Horta |date=February 2013 |title=Most relevant review |work=D+C |url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/world-bank-reviewing-its-social-and-environmental-safeguards-and-civil-society-organisations |publisher=dandc.eu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717150121/http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/world-bank-reviewing-its-social-and-environmental-safeguards-and-civil-society-organisations |archive-date=17 July 2014 |access-date=10 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, the World Bank developed a new Environmental and Social Framework, which has been in implementation since 1 October 2018.<ref>{{cite web |author=The World Bank |date=October 2018 |title=Environmental and Social Framework |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-framework |publisher=World Bank Group}}</ref>

The World Bank or the World Bank Group is also a sitting observer in the [[United Nations Sustainable Development Group]].<ref name="UN Development Group 2012">{{cite web |author=United Nations Development Group |title=UNDG Members |url=http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511144047/http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=13 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=19 August 2012 |publisher=United Nations }}</ref>

=== Loans for environmental protection ===
Beginning in 1989, in response to harsh criticism from many groups, the bank began including environmental groups and NGOs in its loans to mitigate the past effects of its development policies that had prompted the criticism.<ref name="Goldman 2005" />{{rp|93–97}} It also formed an implementing agency, in accordance with the Montreal Protocols, to stop [[Ozone depletion|ozone-depletion]] damage to the Earth's atmosphere by phasing out the use of 95% of ozone-depleting chemicals, with a target date of 2015. Since then, in accordance with its so-called "Six Strategic Themes", the bank has put various additional policies into effect to preserve the environment while promoting development. For example, in 1991, the bank announced that to protect against [[deforestation]], especially [[Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest|in the Amazon]], it would not finance any commercial logging or infrastructure projects that harm the environment.

=== Poverty reduction strategies ===
For the poorest developing countries in the world, the bank's assistance plans are based on [[Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper|poverty reduction strategies]]; by combining an analysis of local groups with an analysis of the country's financial and economic situation the World Bank develops a plan pertaining to the country in question. The government then identifies the country's priorities and targets for the reduction of poverty, and the World Bank instigates its aid efforts correspondingly.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Forty-five countries pledged US$25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that goes to the World Bank [[International Development Association]] (IDA), which distributes the loans to eighty poorer countries. Wealthier [[nations]] sometimes fund their own aid projects, including those for diseases. Robert B. Zoellick, the former president of the World Bank, said when the loans were announced on 15 December 2007, that IDA money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on".<ref name="Landler 2007">{{Cite news |author=Landler, Mark |date=15 December 2007 |title=Britain Overtakes U.S. as Top World Bank Donor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/world/15worldbank.html |access-date=14 August 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

World Bank organizes the [[World Bank Development Marketplace Award|Development Marketplace Awards]], a grant program that surfaces and funds development projects with potential for development impact that are scalable or replicable. The grant beneficiaries are social enterprises with projects that aim to deliver social and public services to groups with the lowest incomes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 26 Great Innovative Ideas that received the World Bank Grant Awards |url=https://www.fundsforngos.org/updates/the-26-great-innovative-ideas-that-received-the-world-bank-grant-awards/ |access-date=2026-05-12 |website=www.fundsforngos.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Development Marketplace Grants: Three Success Stories |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2010/01/05/development-marketplace-grants-three-success-stories |access-date=2026-05-12 |website=World Bank |language=en}}</ref>

=== Efforts to reduce economic inequality ===

In 2013 the bank adopted the concept of ''shared prosperity'' as one of the World Bank's "Twin Goals" for that year, with the other one focusing on poverty reduction, aiming to reduce the share of people in extreme poverty to 3 percent of the global population by 2030.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5_HBAAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |title=A measured approach to ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity: concepts, data, and the twin goals |date=2015 |publisher=World Bank |isbn=978-1-4648-0361-1 |editor-last=Kraay |editor-first=Aart |series=The World Bank Policy Research Report |location=Washington/D.C |editor-last2=Chen |editor-first2=Shaohua |editor-last3=Jolliffe |editor-first3=Dean |editor-last4=Vakis |editor-first4=Renos |editor-last5=Prydz |editor-first5=Espen Beer |editor-last6=Weltbank}}</ref> The bank defined ''shared prosperity'' as increasing the income of the bottom 40 percent of the population in each country. As a result, reducing economic inequality, in this definition, had become an integral part of the World Bank's objectives.<ref name=":1" />

The World Bank has been criticized for not embracing the reduction of economic inequality (be it economic inequality within a country, or [[international inequality]] between countries) as a goal. Instead, the bank has taken an instrumental approach to the issue, in which economic inequality policies were seen as useful as long as they contributed to reducing (extreme) poverty or promoting average economic growth.<ref name=":1" />

As part of the ''[[2030 Agenda]]'', [[Sustainable Development Goal 10]] (SDG 10) aim to reduce inequalities within countries and among countries. World Bank officials participated in the negotiations for SDG 10 in the years prior to 2015. They advocated for the adoption of the bank's own preferred benchmarks.<ref name=":1" /> The World Bank is also one of nine custodian agencies for SDG 10.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last1=van Driel |first1=Melanie |last2=Biermann |first2=Frank |last3=Kim |first3=Rakhyun E. |last4=Vijge |first4=Marjanneke J. |date=2022 |title=International organisations as 'custodians' of the sustainable development goals? Fragmentation and coordination in sustainability governance |journal=Global Policy |language=en |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=669–682 |doi=10.1111/1758-5899.13114 |issn=1758-5880 |pmc=9796348 |pmid=36590104}}</ref>

The bank has stated its ambition to help catalyze the SDGs through "thought leadership, global convening, and country-level uptake". However, scholars have stated that the World Bank strategically uses the power of the [[Sustainable Development Goals]] (SDGs) in its favor to reinforce its own policies or interests while minimizing the chance of being itself reshaped or transformed by these goals.<ref name=":1" />

=== United Nations Department of Global Communications ===
Based on an agreement between the United Nations and the World Bank in 1981, ''[[Development Business]]'' became the official source for World Bank Procurement Notices, Contract Awards, and Project Approvals.<ref name="Development Business 2012">{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.devbusiness.com/DevBusinessViewer.aspx?Content=AboutUNDBPage |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813071156/http://www.devbusiness.com/DevBusinessViewer.aspx?Content=AboutUNDBPage |archive-date=13 August 2012 |access-date=19 August 2012 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

In 1998, the agreement was renegotiated, and included in this agreement was a joint venture to create an online version of the publication. Today, ''Development Business'' is the primary publication for all major multilateral development banks, U.N. agencies, and several national governments, many of which have made the publication of their tenders and contracts in ''Development Business'' a mandatory requirement.<ref name="Development Business 2012" />

=== Open data and open knowledge repository ===
The World Bank collects and processes large amounts of data and generates them on the basis of economic models. These data and models have gradually been made available to the public in a way that encourages reuse,<ref name="Strom 2011">{{Cite news |author=Strom, Stephanie |date=2 July 2011 |title=World Bank Is Opening Its Treasure Chest of Data |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/business/global/03world.html |access-date=20 August 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> whereas the recent publications describing them are available as [[open access]] under a [[Creative Commons Licenses|Creative Commons Attribution License]], for which the bank received the SPARC Innovator 2012 award.<ref name="SPARC 2012">{{cite web |author=SPARC |title=SPARC Innovator: The World Bank |url=http://www.arl.org/sparc/media/World_Bank_SPARC_Innovator.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708233824/http://www.arl.org/sparc/media/World_Bank_SPARC_Innovator.shtml |archive-date=8 July 2012 |access-date=11 July 2012 |publisher=Association of Research Libraries}}</ref>

The World Bank hosts the [[Open Knowledge Repository]] as an official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.<ref>{{cite web |title=Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org |access-date=22 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> The World Bank's repository is listed in the [[Registry of Research Data Repositories]] re3data.org.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank Entry in re3data.org |url=http://service.re3data.org/repository/r3d100000042 |access-date=21 July 2014 |website=www.re3data.org |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023646/http://service.re3data.org/repository/r3d100000042 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The World Bank also endorses the [[Principles for Digital Development]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Vasdev |first=Samhir |date=18 April 2016 |title=Why the World Bank endorses the Principles for Digital Development |url=http://blogs.worldbank.org/ic4d/why-world-bank-endorses-principles-digital-development |website=Information and Communications for Development |access-date=25 July 2025 |archive-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218181434/http://blogs.worldbank.org/ic4d/why-world-bank-endorses-principles-digital-development |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== International Health Partnership ===
Together with the [[World Health Organization]], the World Bank administers the [[International Health Partnership]] (IHP+). IHP+ is a group of partners committed to improving the health of citizens in developing countries. Partners work together to put international principles for [[aid effectiveness]] and development cooperation into practice in the health sector. IHP+ mobilizes national governments, development agencies, civil society, and others to support a single, country-led national health strategy in a well-coordinated way.

=== COVID-19 pandemic ===
In September 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the World Bank announced a $12 billion plan to supply "low and middle income countries" with a vaccine once it was approved.<ref>{{cite news |last=Elliot |first=Larry |date=29 September 2020 |title=World Bank announces $12bn plan for poor countries to buy Covid vaccines |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/29/world-bank-announces-plan-poor-countries-buy-covid-vaccines |access-date=30 September 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> In June 2022, the bank reported that $10.1 billion had been allocated to supply 78 countries with the vaccine<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Support for Country Access to COVID-19 Vaccines |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/news/coronavirus-covid19/world-bank-support-for-country-access-to-covid-19-vaccines |access-date=4 October 2022 |website=World Bank |language=en}}</ref>

The US Treasury has committed $667 million for the World Bank's global Pandemic Fund, a third of the $2 billion the fund hopes to raise.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 July 2024 |title=United States Announces Up to $667 Million Planned Contribution to the Pandemic Fund to Support Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2481 |agency=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY}}</ref> The Pandemic Fund, established in September 2022, is a collaborative initiative among countries, implementing partners, philanthropies, and civil society organizations. It aims to fund investments that address critical gaps in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, with a particular focus on [[low- and middle-income countries]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pandemic Fund |url=https://fiftrustee.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/dfi/fiftrustee/fund-detail/pppr |access-date=24 July 2024 |website=The World Bank}}</ref>

The World Bank has been criticized for the slow response of its [[Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility]] (PEF), a fund that was created to provide money to help manage pandemic outbreaks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Seibt |first=Sébastian |name-list-style=vanc |date=26 February 2020 |title='Useless' pandemic bonds offer little hope for dealing with coronavirus |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200226-coronavirus-pandemic-bonds |access-date=4 March 2020 |publisher=France 24}}</ref> The terms of the PEF, which is financed by bonds sold to private investors, prevent any money from being released from the fund until 12 weeks after the outbreak was initially detected (23 March). The COVID-19 pandemic met all other requirements for the funding to be released in January 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Anna |name-list-style=vanc |date=25 February 2020 |title=World Bank's pandemic bonds sink as coronavirus spreads |url=https://www.ft.com/content/70dd05ac-54d8-11ea-8841-482eed0038b1 |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

== Response to climate change ==
{{See also|Climate finance}}
World Bank President [[Jim Yong Kim]] said in 2012:

<blockquote>A 4-degree warmer world can, and must be, avoided—we need to hold warming below 2 degrees&nbsp;... Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit a completely different world than we are living in today. Climate change is one of the single biggest challenges facing development, and we need to assume the moral responsibility to take action on behalf of future generations, especially the poorest.<ref>{{Cite press release|title=New Report Examines Risks of 4 Degree Hotter World by End of Century |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/11/18/new-report-examines-risks-of-degree-hotter-world-by-end-of-century |publisher=World Bank |access-date=12 October 2013 |date=18 November 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

In December 2017, Kim announced the World Bank would no longer finance [[fossil fuel]] development.<ref>Ness, Erik, "The Cost of Skepticism", ''Brown Alumni Monthly,'' March/April 2018, p.16</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=12 December 2017|title=World Bank to quit upstream oil and gas projects after 2019|url=https://www.devex.com/news/sponsored/world-bank-to-quit-upstream-oil-and-gas-projects-after-2019-91736|access-date=26 August 2020|website=Devex}}</ref> In 2019, the [[International Consortium of Investigative Journalists]] reported that the bank continues to finance fossil fuel infrastructure and that the bank "has yet to meaningfully shift away from fossil fuels."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/world-bank/the-world-bank-is-still-hooked-on-fossil-fuels-despite-climate-pledge/|title=The World Bank is Still Hooked on Fossil Fuels Despite Climate Pledge|website=ICIJ|date=10 April 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> Civil society groups, including [[Extinction Rebellion]], joined with EU finance ministers in November 2019 to call for an end to World Bank funding of fossil fuels.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-finance-ministers-call-for-end-to-fossil-fuel-funding/a-51173077|title=EU finance ministers call for end to fossil fuel funding|last=Camino Gonzalez|first=Jenipher|date=8 November 2019|work=Deutsche Welle|language=en-GB|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2019/10/18/no-more-excuses-world-bank-must-halt-all-funding-fossil-fuels|title=No More Excuses: The World Bank Must Halt All Funding for Fossil Fuels|website=Common Dreams|language=en|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/climate-change-protesters-plan-to-block-downtown-dc-streets-friday-morning/2019/12/05/1d4c1a04-17a7-11ea-9110-3b34ce1d92b1_story.html|title=Climate change protesters block downtown D.C. streets in hours-long protest|last=Lang|first=Marissa J.|date=6 December 2019|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|access-date=8 December 2019}}</ref>

In 2023, U.S. president [[Joe Biden]] nominated [[Ajay Banga]] for president of the World Bank partly due to Banga's support for climate action. The previous president [[David Malpass]] faced criticism for challenging the [[scientific consensus on climate change]].<ref name="Michelle" /> The same year, the UN operationalized the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, which the World Bank hosts to provide climate finance directly to vulnerable frontline communities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2024 |title=The Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage Holds its Historic First Meeting |url=https://unfccc.int/news/the-board-of-the-fund-for-responding-to-loss-and-damage-holds-its-historic-first-meeting |access-date=6 May 2024 |website=UN Climate Change |language=en}}</ref>

In 2025, the bank faced criticism from environmental and animal welfare activists for continuing to finance greenhouse gas intensive [[intensive animal farming|industrial animal agriculture]] operations despite promising to align its investments with the 2015 [[Paris Agreement]]. Between 2018 and 2024, activists say the bank invested $650 million in such projects.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ferris |first1=Nick |title=Development banks 'still funding industrial livestock despite climate promises' |url=https://www.the-independent.com/climate-change/farming-climate-world-bank-africa-b2831464.html |access-date=26 September 2025 |work=The Independent |date=23 September 2025}}</ref>

==Grants table==

The following table lists the top 15 DAC 5 Digit Sectors<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iatistandard.org/202/codelists/Sector/ |title=DAC 5 Digit Sector |publisher=The IATI Standard |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> to which the World Bank has committed funding, as recorded in its [[International Aid Transparency Initiative]] (IATI) publications. The World Bank states on the IATI Registry website that the amounts "will cover 100% of [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]] and [[International Development Association|IDA]] development flows" but will not cover other development flows.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iatiregistry.org/publisher/about/worldbank |title=About - The World Bank - IATI Registry |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-date=21 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921221840/https://iatiregistry.org/publisher/about/worldbank |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!
! colspan="12" | Committed funding (US$ millions)
|-
! Sector !! Before 2007 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! Sum
|-
| [[Road transport]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,654.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,993.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,501.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,550.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,032.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,603.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,852.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,883.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,081.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,922.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 723.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 34,799.8
|-
| Social/ welfare services
| style="text-align:right;" | 613.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 208.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 185.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,878.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,477.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,493.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,498.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,592.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,745.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,537.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 73.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 15,303.5
|-
| Electrical transmission/ distribution
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,292.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 862.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,740.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,435.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,465.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 907.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,614.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 395.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,457.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,632.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 374.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 15,177.8
|-
| Public finance management
| style="text-align:right;" | 334.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 223.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 499.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 129.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 455.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 346.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,156.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,724.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,160.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,438.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 690.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 14,158.6
|-
| [[Rail transport]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 279.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 284.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,289.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 912.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 892.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,487.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 841.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 740.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,964.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,172.2
| style="text-align:right;" | −1.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 9,862.5
|-
| [[Rural development]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 335.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 237.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 382.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 616.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,317.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 972.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 944.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 177.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 380.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,090.3
| style="text-align:right;" | −2.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 7,452.4
|-
| Urban development and management
| style="text-align:right;" | 261.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 375.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 733.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 739.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 542.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,308.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 914.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 258.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 747.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,122.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 212.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 7,214.9
|-
| Business support services and institutions
| style="text-align:right;" | 113.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 20.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 721.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 181.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 363.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 514.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 310.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 760.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,281.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,996.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 491.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,753.7
|-
| [[Energy policy]] and administrative management
| style="text-align:right;" | 102.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 243.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 324.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 234.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 762.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 654.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 902.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 480.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,594.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,001.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 347.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,648.0
|-
| Agricultural [[water resources]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 733.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 749.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 84.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 251.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 780.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 819.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 618.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,040.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,214.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 824.0
| style="text-align:right;" | −105.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 7,011.0
|-
| Decentralisation and support to subnational government
| style="text-align:right;" | 904.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 107.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 176.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 206.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 331.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 852.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 880.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 466.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,417.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 432.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 821.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,597.3
|-
| [[Disaster risk reduction|Disaster prevention and preparedness]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 66.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 2.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 260.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 9.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 417.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 609.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 852.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 373.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,267.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,759.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 114.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,733.5
|-
| [[Sanitation]] - large systems
| style="text-align:right;" | 441.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 679.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 521.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 422.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 613.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,209.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 268.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 55.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 890.6
| style="text-align:right;" | 900.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 93.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,096.3
|-
| [[Water supply]] - large systems
| style="text-align:right;" | 646.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 438.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 298.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 486.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 845.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 640.2
| style="text-align:right;" | 469.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 250.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,332.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 609.9
| style="text-align:right;" | 224.7
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,241.3
|-
| [[Health policy]] and administrative management
| style="text-align:right;" | 661.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 54.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 285.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 673.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,581.4
| style="text-align:right;" | 799.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 251.5
| style="text-align:right;" | 426.3
| style="text-align:right;" | 154.8
| style="text-align:right;" | 368.1
| style="text-align:right;" | 496.0
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,753.1
|-
! Other
! style="text-align:right;" | 13,162.7
! style="text-align:right;" | 6,588.3
! style="text-align:right;" | 8,707.1
! style="text-align:right;" | 11,425.7
! style="text-align:right;" | 17,099.5
! style="text-align:right;" | 11,096.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 16,873.4
! style="text-align:right;" | 13,967.1
! style="text-align:right;" | 20,057.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 21,096.5
! style="text-align:right;" | 3,070.3
! style="text-align:right;" | 140,074.5
|-
! Total
! style="text-align:right;" | 24,602.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 13,069.4
! style="text-align:right;" | 17,712.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 27,152.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 33,975.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 26,314.8
! style="text-align:right;" | 34,248.6
! style="text-align:right;" | 27,593.9
! style="text-align:right;" | 43,748.8
! style="text-align:right;" | 41,905.2
! style="text-align:right;" | 7,624.5
! style="text-align:right;" | 297,948.5
|}

== People ==

===Presidents===
The president of the bank is the president of the entire World Bank Group. The president is responsible for chairing meetings of the boards of directors and for overall management of the bank.

Traditionally, based on a tacit understanding between the United States and Europe, the [[2012 World Bank Group presidential election|president of the World Bank]] has been selected from candidates nominated by the United States, the largest shareholder in the bank. The World Bank tends to lend more readily to countries that are friendly with the United States, not because of direct U.S. influence but because of the employees of the World Bank.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Richard |last2=Dolan |first2=Lindsay |year=2021 |title=Pleasing the Principal: US Influence in World Bank Policymaking |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajps.12531 |journal=American Journal of Political Science |volume=65 |pages=36–51 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12531 |s2cid=219757123 |access-date=8 December 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The nominee is subject to confirmation by the board of executive directors to serve a five-year, renewable term. While most World Bank presidents have had banking experience, some have not.<ref name="Hurlburt 2012">{{Cite news |author=Hurlburt, Heather |date=23 March 2012 |title=Why Jim Yong Kim would make a great World Bank president |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/mar/23/jim-yong-kim-world-bank-president |access-date=23 March 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |quote=Kim is a naturalized US citizen who was born in Korea.}}</ref><ref name="World Bank Leadership 2012">{{cite web |author=World Bank |title=Leadership |url=http://go.worldbank.org/HWEWI4KIO0 |access-date=17 July 2012 |publisher=World Bank Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222005556/http://go.worldbank.org/HWEWI4KIO0 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 23 March 2012, U.S. president [[Barack Obama]] announced that the United States would nominate [[Jim Yong Kim]] as the next president of the bank.<ref name="Office of the Press Secretary 2012">{{Cite news |author=Office of the Press Secretary |date=23 March 2012 |title=President Obama Announces U.S. Nomination of Dr. Jim Yong Kim to Lead World Bank |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/23/president-obama-announces-us-nomination-dr-jim-yong-kim-lead-world-bank |access-date=23 March 2012 |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |via=[[NARA|National Archives]]}}</ref> Jim Yong Kim was elected on 27 April 2012 and reelected to a second five-year term in 2017. He announced his resignation effective 1 February 2019 and<ref>{{cite news |date=7 January 2019 |title=Jim Yong Kim steps down as President of World Bank |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46787840 |work=BBC News}}</ref> was replaced on an interim basis by now-former World Bank CEO [[Kristalina Georgieva]], then by [[David Malpass]] on 9 April 2019. Malpass faced criticism in 2023 as he had "sparked outcry by appearing to question the [[Causes of climate change|role of humans in climate change]]".<ref name="Michelle">{{cite news |last1=Fleury |first1=Michelle |date=4 May 2023 |title=Biden pick Ajay Banga gets top World Bank job |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65474459 |access-date=7 May 2023 |agency=BBC}}</ref>

In 2023, a new president was appointed: [[Ajay Banga]]. His term began on 2 June 2023. He was supported by the American president [[Joe Biden]] partly because he supports climate action.<ref name="Michelle" /> He is also expected to help low-income countries deal with debts. He is the first Indian American to lead the bank.<ref name="Michelle" /> 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Presidents of the World Bank
|-
! Name
! Dates
! Nationality
! Previous work
|-
| [[Eugene Meyer (financier)|Eugene Meyer]]
| 1946–1946
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Newspaper publisher and [[Chair of the Federal Reserve|Chairman of the Federal Reserve]]
|-
| [[John J. McCloy]]
| 1947–1949
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Lawyer and [[United States Secretary of War|United States Assistant Secretary of War]]
|-
| {{nowrap|[[Eugene R. Black, Sr.]]}}
| 1949–1963
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Bank executive with [[Chase Bank]] and executive director with the World Bank
|-
| [[George David Woods|George Woods]]
| 1963–1968
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Bank executive with [[First Boston]]
|-
| [[Robert McNamara]]
| 1968–1981
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| President of the [[Ford Motor Company]], [[United States Secretary of Defense]] under presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
|-
| [[Alden W. Clausen]]
| 1981–1986
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Lawyer, bank executive with [[Bank of America]]
|-
| [[Barber Conable]]
| 1986–1991
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| New York State Senator and US Congressman
|-
| [[Lewis Thompson Preston|Lewis T. Preston]]
| 1991–1995
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Bank executive with [[J.P. Morgan & Co.]]
|-
| {{nowrap| [[James Wolfensohn]]}}
| 1995–2005
|{{flagcountry|United States}} and {{flagcountry|Australia}}
| Wolfensohn was a naturalised American citizen before taking office. Corporate lawyer and banker
|-
| [[Paul Wolfowitz]]
| 2005–2007
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Indonesia|US Ambassador to Indonesia]], US Deputy Secretary of Defense, dean of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, a prominent architect of [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], resigned World Bank post due to ethics scandal<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/42f29804-e8ae-11db-b2c3-000b5df10621 |title=Wolfowitz Laid Out Terms for Partner's Pay Package |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=12 April 2007 |accessdate=14 May 2007}}</ref>
|-
| [[Robert Zoellick]]
| 2007–2012
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| [[United States Deputy Secretary of State]] and [[Office of the United States Trade Representative|US Trade Representative]]
|-
| [[Jim Yong Kim]]
| 2012–2019
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Former Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at [[Harvard Medical School|Harvard]], president of [[Dartmouth College]], naturalized American citizen<ref name="Hurlburt 2012" />
|-
|[[Kristalina Georgieva]] (acting)
|2019
|{{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}
|Former [[European Commissioner for Budget and Administration|European Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources]] and 2010's "European of the Year"
|-
|[[David Malpass]]
|2019–2023
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| [[Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs]]
|-
|[[Ajay Banga]]
|2023–present
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
| Former head of [[Mastercard]]<ref name="Michelle" />
|}

=== Vice presidents and boards of directors ===
The vice presidents of the bank are its principal managers, in charge of regions, sectors, networks and functions. There are two executive vice presidents, three senior vice presidents, and 24 vice presidents.<ref name="World Bank Senior Management 2012">{{cite web |author=World Bank |title=Senior Management |url=http://go.worldbank.org/DHWEE5LGQ0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416051123/http://go.worldbank.org/DHWEE5LGQ0 |archive-date=16 April 2013 |access-date=12 August 2012 |publisher=World Bank Group}}</ref>

The boards of directors consist of the World Bank Group president and 25 executive directors. The president is the presiding officer, and ordinarily has no vote except to break a tie. The executive directors as individuals cannot exercise any power or commit or represent the bank unless the boards specifically authorized them to do so. With the term beginning 1 November 2010, the number of executive directors increased by one, to 25.<ref name="World Bank Boards of Directors 2012">{{cite web |author=World Bank |title=Boards of Directors |url=http://go.worldbank.org/LHHOT1LSW0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416051730/http://go.worldbank.org/LHHOT1LSW0 |archive-date=16 April 2013 |access-date=12 August 2012 |publisher=World Bank Group}}</ref>

===Chief economists===
{{Main|World Bank Chief Economist}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+World Bank chief economists<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-24/romer-steps-down-as-world-bank-chief-economist-after-rocky-stint|title=Paul Romer Steps Down as World Bank Chief Economist After Rocky Stint|last=Mayeda|first=Andrew|date=24 January 2018|newspaper=Bloomberg.com}}</ref>
|-
! Name
! Dates
! Nationality
|-
| [[Hollis B. Chenery]]
| 1972–1982
| rowspan="2" |{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
| [[Anne Osborn Krueger]]
| 1982–1986
|-
| [[Stanley Fischer]]
| 1988–1990
|{{flagcountry|United States}} and {{flagcountry|Israel}}
|-
| [[Lawrence Summers]]
| 1991–1993
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
| [[Michael Bruno (economist)|Michael Bruno]]
| 1993–1996
|{{flagcountry|Israel}}
|-
| [[Joseph Stiglitz|Joseph E. Stiglitz]]
| 1997–2000
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
| [[Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford|Nicholas Stern]]
| 2000–2003
|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[François Bourguignon]]
| 2003–2007
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|-
| [[Justin Yifu Lin]]
| 2008–2012
|{{flagcountry|China}}
|-
| [[Kaushik Basu]]
| 2012–2016
|{{flagcountry|India}}
|-
| [[Paul Romer]]
| 2016–2018
| rowspan="3" |{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
| [[Shanta Devarajan]] <small>(Acting)</small>
| 2018–2018
|-
| [[Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg|Penny Goldberg]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.yale.edu/2018/04/26/yales-penny-goldberg-appointed-chief-economist-world-bank |title=Yale's Penny Goldberg appointed chief economist at the World Bank |date=26 April 2018 |access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=World Bank Group President Appoints Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg as Chief Economist |url= http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/04/26/world-bank-group-president-appoints-pinelopi-koujianou-goldberg-as-chief-economist| access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-bank-lose-second-chief-172500978.html|title=World Bank Loses Chief Economist in under 15 months|last=Lawder|first=David|date=5 February 2020|agency=[[Reuters]]|access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>
| 2018–2020
|-
| Aart Kraay <small>(Acting)</small><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/world-bank-chief-economist-announces-resignation-12399274|title=World Bank Chief Economist announces resignation|date=6 February 2020|work=[[Channel News Asia]]|access-date=3 March 2020|archive-date=6 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206014827/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/world-bank-chief-economist-announces-resignation-12399274|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Aart Kraay |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/a/aart-kraay |publisher=World Bank |access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>
| 2020–2020
|
|-
| [[Carmen Reinhart]]
| 2020–2022
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|[[Indermit Gill]]
|2022–present
|{{flagcountry|India}}
|}

=== Staff ===
In 2020, the World Bank had 12,300 full-time staff, and it operated in 145 countries.<ref name=":1" />

=== Politicians who were World Bank employees ===
Some notable [[politicians]] who worked for the World Bank include:
* [[Ashraf Ghani]], was Lead Anthropologist at the World Bank and President of [[Afghanistan]] (2014–2021).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ashraf Ghani {{!}} president of Afghanistan|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashraf-Ghani|access-date=23 August 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Fakhruddin Ahmed]] was the chief adviser of the interim [[Government of Bangladesh]] during the [[2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis|political crisis of 2006–2008]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 933|url=https://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/01/13/d7011301011.htm|access-date=23 August 2021|work=The Daily Star}}</ref>
* [[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]], former World Bank Managing Director who held several posts in the government of [[Nigeria]], including Minister of Finance.
* [[Sri Mulyani Indrawati]], former World Bank Managing Director and former Minister of Finance of [[Indonesia]] (2005–2010 & 2016–2025)
* [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]], World Bank Director for West Africa and President of [[Liberia]] (2006–2018).

===List of World Bank Directors-General of Evaluation===
{{Main|World Bank Director-General Evaluation}}

*Christopher Willoughby, Successively Unit Chief, Division Chief, and Department Director for Operations Evaluation (1970–1976)
*Mervyn L. Weiner, First Director-General, Operations Evaluation (1975–1984)
*Yves Rovani, Director-General, Operations Evaluation (1986–1992)
*Robert Picciotto, Director-General, Operations Evaluation (1992–2002)
*Gregory K. Ingram, Director-General, Operations Evaluation (2002–2005)
*Vinod Thomas, Director-General, Evaluation (2005–2011)
*Caroline Heider, Director-General, Evaluation (2011–present)

==Criticisms and controversy{{anchor|Criticisms}}==
[[File:Worldbank protest jakarta.jpg|thumb|A young World Bank protester in [[Jakarta, Indonesia|Jakarta]], Indonesia]]
[[File:IMF and World Bank protests - damage in Logan Circle.jpg|thumb|World Bank/[[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] protesters smashed the windows of this [[PNC Financial Services|PNC Bank]] branch located in the [[Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.|Logan Circle]] neighbourhood of Washington, D.C.]]
The World Bank has long been criticized by non-governmental organizations, such as the indigenous rights group [[Survival International]], and academics, including [[Henry Hazlitt]], [[Ludwig Von Mises]], and [[Joseph Stiglitz]], former Chief Economist for the World Bank.<ref name="Stiglitz 2003a">{{Cite book | title = The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade | author = Stiglitz, Joseph E. | year = 2003 | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-0-393-05852-9 | url = https://archive.org/details/roaringninetiesn00stig }}</ref><ref name="Stiglitz 2003b">{{Cite book | title = Globalization and Its Discontents | author = Stiglitz, Joseph E. | year = 2003 | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-0-393-32439-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/globalizationits00stig_0 }}</ref><ref name="Stiglitz 2007">{{Cite book | title = Making Globalization Work | author = Stiglitz, Joseph E. | year = 2007 | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-0-393-33028-1 | url = https://archive.org/details/makingglobalizat00stig }}</ref>  
Stiglitz is equally critical of the [[International Monetary Fund]], the [[US Treasury Department]], and the US and other developed country trade negotiators.<ref name="stiglitz">See [[Joseph Stiglitz]], ''[[The Roaring Nineties]]'', ''[[Globalization and Its Discontents]]'', and ''[[Making Globalization Work]]''.<!--These sources need fuller citations, inc. places and dates of publication, page numbers as applicable, and ISBN nos.--></ref> Hazlitt argued that the World Bank along with the monetary system it was designed within would promote world inflation and "a world in which international trade is State-dominated" when they were being advocated.<ref name="Hazlitt 1984">{{Cite book | title = From Bretton Woods to World Inflation: A Study of the Causes and Consequences | author = Hazlitt, Henry | year = 1984 | publisher = Regnery Publishing | location = Washington, D.C. | isbn = 978-0-89526-617-0}}</ref> Stiglitz argued that the [[free market]] reform policies that the bank advocates are often harmful to [[economic development]] if implemented badly, too quickly ("[[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]]"), in the wrong sequence or in weak, uncompetitive economies.<ref name="Stiglitz 2003b" /><ref name="Schneider 2002">{{Cite encyclopedia | title = World Markets: Anthropological Perspectives | author = Schneider, Jane | encyclopedia = Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines | editor = MacClancy, Jeremy | year = 2002 | publisher = University of Chicago Press | location = Chicago, IL | isbn = 978-0-226-50013-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/exoticnomoreanth00macc }}</ref> Ludwig von Mises opposed institutions like the World Bank because he believed they replace market-based investment controlled by the collective decisions of voluntary participants with politically driven lending controlled by bureaucrats who are shielded from the consequences of their actions. He argued this practice distorts prices and interest rates leading to ''malinvestment'', or inefficient use of capital (see [[economic calculation problem]]). He also warned such systems raise [[moral hazard]] by encouraging government dependency and poor economic decision-making.<ref>Derviş, Kemal (2004). ''The Bretton Woods Institutions after 60 Years: Some Thoughts on Markets, Governance and the Role of the IMF''. Oesterreichische Nationalbank. Available at: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/264838/1/OeNB-Workshop-No-03.pdf</ref>

World Bank loan agreements can also force procurements of goods and services at uncompetitive, non-free-market, prices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Word - IFI Watch Bangladesh_Vol_1 No_1.doc |url=http://www.unnayan.org/Other/IFI_Watch_Bangladesh_Vol_1%20No_1.pdf |access-date=31 May 2010 |archive-date=8 November 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041108100213/http://www.unnayan.org/Other/IFI_Watch_Bangladesh_Vol_1%20No_1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Rp|5}} Other critical writers, such as [[John Perkins (author)|John Perkins]], label the international financial institutions as 'illegal and illegitimate and a cog of coercive American diplomacy in carrying out financial terrorism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perkins |first=John |title=[[Confessions of an Economic Hit Man]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-452-28708-1 |pages=259|publisher=Plume }}</ref>

Defenders of the World Bank contend that no country is forced to borrow its money. The bank provides both loans and grants. Even the loans are concessional since they are given to countries that have no access to international [[capital market]]s. Furthermore, the loans, both to poor and middle-income countries, are below market-value [[interest rate]]s. The World Bank argues that it can help development more through loans than grants because money repaid on the loans can then be lent for other projects.

The IFC and MIGA and their way of evaluating the social and environmental impact of their projects has also been criticized. Critics state that even though IFC and MIGA have more of these standards than the World Bank, they mostly rely on private-sector clients to monitor their implementation and miss an independent monitoring institution in this context. This is why an extensive review of the institutions' implementation strategy of social and environmental standards is demanded.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Korinna Horta |date=February 2013 |title=Most relevant review |work=D+C |url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/world-bank-reviewing-its-social-and-environmental-safeguards-and-civil-society-organisations |publisher=dandc.eu}}</ref>

One of the most common criticisms of the World Bank has been the way it is governed. While the World Bank represents 188 countries, it is run by a small number of economically powerful countries. These countries (which also provide most of the institution's funding) choose the bank's leadership and senior management, and critics argue the interests of these economically powerful nations dominate the World Bank agenda.<ref name="Woods 2007">{{Cite book | title = The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers | author = Woods, Ngaire | year = 2007 | publisher = Cornell University Press | location = Ithaca, NY | isbn = 978-0-8014-7420-0}}</ref>{{rp|190}} Titus Alexander argues that the unequal voting power of western countries and the World Bank's role in [[Developing country|developing countries]] makes it similar to the South African Development Bank under apartheid, and therefore a pillar of [[global apartheid]].<ref name="Alexander 1996">{{Cite book | title = Unravelling Global Apartheid: An Overview of World Politics | author = Alexander, Titus | year = 1996 | publisher = Polity | location = Cambridge, UK | isbn = 978-0-7456-1352-9 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/unravellinggloba0000alex }}</ref>{{rp|133–141}}

In the 1990s, the World Bank and the IMF forged the [[Washington Consensus]], policies that included [[deregulation]] and liberalization of markets, privatization and the [[civil service reform in developing countries|downscaling of government]]. Though the Washington Consensus was conceived as a policy that would best promote development, it was criticized for ignoring equity, employment, and how reforms like privatization were carried out. Stiglitz argued that the Washington Consensus placed too much emphasis on GDP growth and not enough on the permanence of growth or on whether growth contributed to better living standards.<ref name="Stiglitz 2007" />{{rp|17}}

The [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]] report criticized the World Bank and other international financial institutions for focusing too much "on issuing loans rather than on achieving concrete development results within a finite period of time" and called on the institution to "strengthen anti-corruption efforts".<ref name="Committee on Foreign Relations 2010">{{Cite report | title = The International Financial Institutions: A Call For Change | publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office | date = 2010 | author = Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, 111th Congress | url = http://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/55285.pdf | access-date = 20 August 2012}}</ref>

[[James Ferguson (anthropologist)|James Ferguson]] has argued that the main effect of many development projects carried out by the World Bank and similar organizations is not the alleviation of poverty. Instead, the projects often serve to expand the exercise of bureaucratic state power. His case studies of development projects in [[Thaba-Tseka District|Thaba-Tseka]] show that the World Bank's characterization of the economic conditions in [[Lesotho]] was flawed, and the bank ignored the political and cultural character of the state in crafting its projects. As a result, the projects failed to help the poor but succeeded in expanding the government bureaucracy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ferguson|first1=James|last2=Lohmann|first2=Larry|date=September–October 1994|title=The Anti-Politics Machine|url=http://stuz-muk.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Ferguson-The-Anti-Politics-Machine.pdf|journal=The Ecologist|volume=24|issue=5|pages=176–181|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=16 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516125652/http://stuz-muk.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Ferguson-The-Anti-Politics-Machine.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Criticism of the World Bank and other organizations often takes the form of protesting, such as the [[World Bank Oslo 2002 Protests]],<ref name="Gibbs 2002">{{Cite news | title = Europe: Norway: Protests As World Bank Meets | author = Gibbs, Walter | date = 25 June 2002 | newspaper = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/world/world-briefing-europe-norway-protests-as-world-bank-meets.html | access-date = 20 August 2012}}</ref> the 2007 [[October Rebellion]],<ref name="Williams & Ruane 2007">{{Cite news | title = Violence Erupts at Protest in Georgetown | author = Williams, Clarence | author2 = Ruane, Michael E. | date = 20 October 2007 | newspaper = The Washington Post | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101901728.html | access-date = 30 May 2008}}</ref> and the 1999 [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity|Battle of Seattle]].<ref name="Wilson 1999">{{Cite news | title = Embattled police chief resigns | author = Wilson, Kimberly A.C. | date = 7 December 1999 | newspaper = Seattle Post-Intelligencer | url = http://www.iatp.org/news/embattled-police-chief-resigns | access-date = 19 May 2008}}</ref> Such demonstrations have occurred all over the world, even among the Brazilian [[Kayapo people]].<ref name="Clendenning 2008">{{cite magazine | title = Amazon Indians Attack Official Over Dam Project | author = Clendenning, Alan | date = 21 May 2008 | agency = Associated Press | magazine = National Geographic | url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080521-AP-indians-dam.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080528063255/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080521-AP-indians-dam.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 28 May 2008 | access-date = 21 May 2008}}</ref>

Another source of criticism has been the tradition of having an American head the bank, implemented because the United States provides the majority of World Bank funding. "When economists from the World Bank visit poor countries to dispense cash and advice," observed ''[[The Economist]]'' in 2012, "they routinely tell governments to reject cronyism and fill each important job with the best candidate available. It is good advice. The World Bank should take it."<ref name="The Economist 2012">{{Cite news | title = Hats off to Ngozi | date = 31 March 2012 | newspaper = The Economist | url = https://www.economist.com/leaders/2012/03/31/hats-off-to-ngozi |url-access=subscription | access-date = 2 April 2012}}</ref>

In 2021, an independent inquiry of the World Bank's ''Doing Business'' reports by the law firm [[Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr|WilmerHale]] found that World Bank leaders, including then-Chief Executive [[Kristalina Georgieva]] and then-President [[Jim Yong Kim]],<ref name="AP News"/> pressured staff members of the bank to alter data to inflate the rankings for [[China]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Probe finds World Bank changed data to boost China ranking |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/17/probe-finds-world-bank-changed-data-to-boost-china-ranking |work=Al-Jazeera |date=17 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906080026/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/17/probe-finds-world-bank-changed-data-to-boost-china-ranking |archive-date= 6 September 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Investigation finds World Bank leaders pushed staffers to boost rankings for China and Saudi Arabia in high-profile reports |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/17/business/world-bank-investigation/index.html |work=CNN Business |first1=Philip |last1=Wang |date=17 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906124411/https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/17/business/world-bank-investigation/index.html |archive-date= 6 September 2023 }}</ref>

In September 2023, it was revealed that the World Bank had poured billions of dollars into fossil fuel projects in 2022. Campaigners estimated that about $3.7bn in trade finance was supplied to oil and gas projects despite the World Bank's green pledges.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Fiona |author-link=Fiona Harvey |date=12 September 2023 |title=World Bank spent billions of dollars backing fossil fuels in 2022, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/12/world-bank-spent-billions-of-dollars-backing-fossil-fuels-in-2022-study-finds |access-date=12 September 2023 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Allegations of corruption===

[http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/integrity-vice-presidency The World Bank's Integrity Vice Presidency (INT)] is charged with the investigation of internal fraud and corruption, including complaint intake, investigation, and investigation reports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Integrity Vice Presidency - The Investigative Process |url=https://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/ORGUNITS/EXTDOII/0,,contentMDK:22641983~menuPK:2452528~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:588921,00.html |access-date=27 May 2012 |publisher=Web.world bank.org |archive-date=10 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210055132/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/ORGUNITS/EXTDOII/0,,contentMDK:22641983~menuPK:2452528~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:588921,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Structural adjustment===
The effect of [[structural adjustment]] policies on poor countries has been one of the most significant criticisms of the World Bank.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graeber|first=David|author-link=David Graeber|title=Direct Action: An Ethnography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnTDEQkCoc4C&pg=PA443 |publisher=[[AK Press]]|pages=442–443|isbn=978-1-904859-79-6|year=2009}}</ref> The [[1979 energy crisis]] plunged many countries into economic crisis.<ref name="deVries 1996">{{Cite encyclopedia | title = The World Bank's Focus on Poverty | author = deVries, Barend A. | encyclopedia = The World Bank: Lending on a Global Scale | editor = Griesgraber, Jo Marie | editor2 = Gunter, Bernhard G. | year = 1996 | publisher = Pluto Press | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-7453-1049-7}}</ref>{{rp|68}} The World Bank responded with [[structural adjustment loan]]s, which distributed aid to struggling countries while enforcing policy changes in order to reduce inflation and fiscal imbalance. Some of these policies included encouraging [[production (economics)|production]], investment and labour-intensive manufacturing, changing real [[exchange rates]], and altering the distribution of government resources. Structural adjustment policies were most effective in countries with an institutional framework that allowed these policies to be implemented easily. For some countries, particularly in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], economic growth regressed and inflation worsened.

By the late 1980s, some international organizations began to believe that structural adjustment policies were worsening life for the world's poor, due to a reduction in social spending and an increase in the price of food, as subsidies were lifted. It also have been criticized for being [[Debt-trap diplomacy]]. The World Bank changed structural adjustment loans, allowing for social spending to be maintained, and encouraging a slower change to policies such as transfer of subsidies and price rises.<ref name="deVries 1996" />{{rp|70}} In 1999, the World Bank and the IMF introduced the [[Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper]] approach to replace structural adjustment loans.<ref name="Tan 2007">{{Cite encyclopedia | title = The poverty of amnesia: PRSPs in the legacy of structural adjustment | author = Tan, Celine | encyclopedia = The World Bank and Governance: A Decade of Reform and Reaction | editor = Stone, Diane | editor2 = Wright, Christopher | year = 2007 | publisher = Routledge | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-0-415-41282-7}}</ref>{{rp|147}}

===Fairness of assistance conditions===
Some critics,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wdm.org.uk/sites/default/files/treacherousconditions07052003.pdf | title=Treacherous conditions: How IMF and World Bank policies tied to debt relief are undermining development | publisher=World Development Movement | year=2003 | access-date=12 May 2013 | author=Hardstaff, Peter | archive-date=29 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329034727/http://www.wdm.org.uk/sites/default/files/treacherousconditions07052003.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> most prominently the author [[Naomi Klein]], are of the opinion that the World Bank Group's loans and aid have unfair [[terms and conditions|conditions]] attached to them which reflect the interests, financial power and political doctrines (notably the [[Washington Consensus]]) of the bank and the countries that are most influential within it. Among other allegations, Klein says the Group's credibility was damaged "when it forced school fees on students in Ghana in exchange for a loan; when it demanded that Tanzania privatise its water system; when it made telecom privatisation a condition of aid for [[Hurricane Mitch]]; when it demanded labour 'flexibility' in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|Asian tsunami]]; when it pushed for eliminating food subsidies in post-invasion Iraq".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/apr/27/comment.business | title=The World Bank has the perfect standard bearer | newspaper=The Guardian | date=27 April 2007 | access-date=12 May 2013 | author=Klein, Naomi}}</ref>

A study of the period 1970–2004 found that a less-developed country would on average receive more World Bank projects during any period when it occupied one of the rotating seats on the UN Security Council.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dreher|first1=Axel|last2=Sturm|first2=Jan-Egbert|last3=Vreeland|first3=James Raymond|date=1 January 2009|title=Development aid and international politics: Does membership on the UN Security Council influence World Bank decisions?|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387808000187|journal=Journal of Development Economics|language=en|volume=88|issue=1|pages=1–18|doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2008.02.003|issn=0304-3878|hdl=10419/50418|hdl-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Sovereign immunity===
The World Bank requires [[sovereign immunity]] from countries it deals with.<ref name="IFI Watch 2004">{{Cite journal | title = The World Bank and the Question of Immunity | journal = IFI Watch – Bangladesh | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | year = 2004 | pages = 1–10 | author = IFI Watch | url = http://www.unnayan.org/Other/IFI_Watch_Bangladesh_Vol_1%20No_1.pdf | access-date = 4 September 2004 | archive-date = 8 November 2004 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041108100213/http://www.unnayan.org/Other/IFI_Watch_Bangladesh_Vol_1%20No_1.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="World Bank Sovereign Immunity 2007">{{Cite report | title = Sovereign Immunity | publisher = World Bank Group | date = 2007 | author = World Bank | url = http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTINFANDLAW/Resources/sovereignimmunity.pdf | access-date = 20 August 2012 | archive-date = 11 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140311193319/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTINFANDLAW/Resources/sovereignimmunity.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Hasson 2002">{{Cite journal | title = Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and Sovereign Immunity on Trial: Noriega, Pinochet, and Milosevic – Trends in Political Accountability and Transnational Criminal Law | journal = Boston College International and Comparative Law Review | volume = 25 | issue = 1 | year = 2002 | pages = 125–158 | author = Hasson, Adam Isaac | url = http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol25/iss1/6/ | access-date = 25 April 2012}}</ref> Sovereign immunity waives a holder from all legal liability for their actions. It is proposed that this immunity from responsibility is a "shield which The World Bank wants to resort to, for escaping accountability and security by the people".<ref name="IFI Watch 2004"/> As the United States has veto power, it can prevent the World Bank from taking action against its interests.<ref name="IFI Watch 2004"/>

===Cronyism and Elite Capture===
Criticism was also leveled under the presidency of [[Jim Yong Kim]], particularly regarding financial management and staff morale. Reports of a controversial $94,000 bonus awarded to the Bank's CFO, [[Bertrand Badré]] (2013–2016), at his request on top of a tax-free salary of $379,000, while significant staff cuts and austerity measures were being implemented, drew criticism from within and outside the organization. This bonus, revealed by Senior Country Officer [[Fabrice Houdart]] amidst a broader effort by Kim to implement cost-cutting reforms, sparked debates over transparency, ethics, and the organization's commitment to its own principles, further exacerbating concerns about trust and leadership within the World Bank. Badré renounced the bonus and left the Bank shortly after.<ref>{{cite web|title=How Much Money Is the World Bank Spending to Intimidate Staff?|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-much-money-is-the-world-bank-spending-to-intimidate-staff_b_5a4e4a2ae4b0d86c803c77af|website=HuffPost|access-date=30 March 2024}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Opprobrium from the atrium|url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2014/11/08/opprobrium-from-the-atrium|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Feder |first=J. Lester|title=LGBT Employee Leader Under Investigation At World Bank|url= https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lesterfeder/lgbt-employee-leader-under-investigation-at-world-bank|publisher=BuzzFeed News|date=9 April 2015|access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Challenges Confronting Whistleblowing and the International Civil Servant|journal=Public Personnel Management|volume=39 |issue=4|year=2018 |doi=10.1177/0734371X18767247 |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X18767247|access-date=30 March 2024 |last1=Moloney |first1=Kim |last2=Bowman |first2=James S. |last3=West |first3=Jonathan P. |pages=611–634 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/27/is-jim-yong-kim-destroying-the-world-bank-development-finance/ |title=Is Jim Yong Kim Destroying the World Bank? |publisher=Foreign Policy |date=27 April 2016|access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>

The World Bank was the subject of a scandal with its then-president [[Paul Wolfowitz]] and his aide, [[Shaha Riza]], in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 April 2007 |title=Pressure grows on World Bank boss |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6550995.stm |access-date=29 June 2022 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

According to reports citing a recording of a 2018 staff meeting shared by a whistleblower, World Bank staff were informed Robert Malpass, a recent economics graduate of [[Cornell University]] and the son of [[David Malpass]], then US [[Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs]] and later [[President of the World Bank Group]], would be hired as an analyst in July of that year. On the recording, staff were reportedly told Robert Malpass was a "prince" and an "important little fellow" who could go "running to daddy." Bank officials also believed David Malpass was more influential than then-[[US Treasury Secretary]] [[Steven Mnuchin]], who they said "has little or no clue on things."<ref name="Makortoff">{{cite news |last1=Makortoff |first1=Kalyeena |date=12 April 2023 |title=World Bank staff were told to give special treatment to son of Trump official |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/12/world-bank-staff-son-of-trump-official-david-malpass |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In April 2018, the US Treasury had changed its position to back a $13 billion capital infusion for the bank.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawder |first1=David |date=21 April 2018 |title=World Bank shareholders back $13 billion capital increase |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-g20-wbank-idUSKBN1HS0QS |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Reuters}}</ref>

Malpass served as undersecretary of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury]] in the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] before being appointed by Trump in February 2019 to be World Bank's president. Before Malpass became president, his son Robert had joined the [[International Finance Corporation]] (IFC), a branch of the World Bank Group that lends money to private sector businesses and whose [[United States dollar|USD]] 5.5 billion funding from a USD 13 billion World Bank capital increase was secured by the US Treasury at the time that David Malpass was the Treasury's undersecretary.<ref name="Makortoff" />

===Criticism of specific loans and programs in Africa===
Almost 45% of all the World Bank's resources are going to Africa, despite this the region continues to face significant financing gaps and development challenges.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tadesse |first=Fasika |title=World Bank's $100 Billion Low-Cost Loan Facility Targets Africa |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-12/world-bank-s-100-billion-low-cost-loan-facility-targets-africa |work=Bloomberg News |date=12 September 2025 |access-date=12 September 2025}}</ref>

On 9 August 2023, the World Bank announced it was suspending new loans to Uganda because it claims that a new [[Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023|anti-homosexuality act]], enacted in May 2023, contradicts its core values on human rights. The World Bank joined the United States in imposing sanctions against Uganda over the anti-homosexuality law. Uganda dismissed the move by the World Bank as unjust and hypocritical.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mackintosh|first1=Mackintosh|last2=Juma|first2=Mercy|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66453098 |title=World Bank halts new Uganda loans over anti-LGBTQ+ law - BBC News |publisher=BBC News|date=9 August 2023 |accessdate=10 August 2023}}</ref>

The World Bank funded a program in Tanzania supposed to help nature conservation. The program was criticized because it led to severe violation of human rights toward the [[Maasai people]].<ref>{{cite web |title=URGENT ALERT: Tanzanian Government on a Rampage Against Indigenous People |url=https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/urgent-alert-tanzanian-government-rampage-against-indigenous-people |website=Oakland Institute |date=25 January 2024 |access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref>

===Investments===
The World Bank Group has also been criticized for investing in projects with human rights issues.<ref name="upside down">{{Cite web |last=Mychalejko |first=Cyril |title=Beyond Reform: It's Time to Shut Down the World Bank |url=http://upsidedownworld.org/main/honduras-archives-46/4660-beyond-reform-its-time-to-shut-down-the-world-bank- |access-date=5 April 2014 |website=Upside Down World|date=23 January 2014 }}</ref>

The [[Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman]] (CAO) criticized a loan the bank made to the palm oil company Dinant after the [[2009 Honduran coup d'état]]. There have been numerous killings of Campesinos in the region where Dinant was operating.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Malkin |first=Elisabeth |date=10 January 2014 |title=World Bank Is Criticized for Honduran Loan |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/world/americas/world-bank-is-criticized-for-honduran-loan.html |access-date=5 April 2014}}</ref>

Other controversial investments include loans to the [[Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam]] in Guatemala while it was under military dictatorship, and to [[Goldcorp]] (then Glamis Gold) for the construction of the [[Marlin Mine]].

In 2019, the [[Congressional-Executive Commission on China]] questioned the World Bank about a loan in [[Xinjiang|Xinjiang, China]], that was used to buy high-end security gear, including surveillance equipment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allen-Ebrahimian |first=Bethany |date=27 August 2019 |title=The World Bank Was Warned About Funding Repression in Xinjiang |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/27/the-world-bank-was-warned-about-funding-repression-in-xinjiang/ |access-date=28 August 2019 |website=[[Foreign Policy]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Allen-Ebrahimian |first=Bethany |date=11 December 2019 |title=Scoop: China tried to get World Bank to fund surveillance in Xinjiang |work=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/china-world-bank-xinjiang-ai-huawei-surveillance-263c5753-1cb8-4366-aad3-c9be9b285fa5.html |access-date=14 August 2020 |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922080415/https://www.axios.com/china-world-bank-xinjiang-ai-huawei-surveillance-263c5753-1cb8-4366-aad3-c9be9b285fa5.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The bank launched an internal investigation in response to the allegation. In August 2020, U.S. lawmakers questioned the continued disbursement of the loan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allen-Ebrahimian |first=Bethany |date=14 August 2020 |title=Lawmakers demand answers from World Bank on Xinjiang loan |work=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/lawmakers-malpass-about-world-bank-xinjiang-loan-china-f5c832cb-72d8-4fd9-8cea-9cc7e47d85cc.html |access-date=14 August 2020 |archive-date=24 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824081440/https://www.axios.com/lawmakers-malpass-about-world-bank-xinjiang-loan-china-f5c832cb-72d8-4fd9-8cea-9cc7e47d85cc.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Banks|Business}}
* [[Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group]]
* [[Architecture of Washington, D.C.]]
* [[Clean Energy for Development Investment Framework]]
* [[Energy Sector Management Assistance Program]] (ESMAP)
* [[New Development Bank]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Library resources box}}
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{Official website}}
{{Wikiquote|World Bank}}

{{World Bank}}
{{Navboxes|list=
{{Central banks}}
{{Economics}}
{{International organizations}}
{{Trade}}
{{United Nations}}
{{Humanitarian partners of the European Commission}}
{{Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)}}
}}
{{portal bar|Banks|Economics|World}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:World Bank| ]]
[[Category:1944 in economic history]]
[[Category:Carbon finance]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1944]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania Avenue]]
[[Category:Supranational banks]]
[[Category:World Bank Group| ]]
[[Category:United Nations specialized agencies]]
[[Category:International development organizations]]
[[Category:Multilateral development banks]]
[[Category:United Nations Development Group]]
[[Category:United Nations Economic and Social Council]]
[[Category:Banks established in 1945]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1945]]