Accurate and up-to-date information on the work of the IMF has been in high demand throughout the years. Our factsheets are a popular outreach tool, with over a million internet "visits" a year. The factsheets provide a web-friendly, plain-English explanation of the work of the IMF on the issues of most importance to our key stakeholders as well as to those developing an interest in our work.
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December 18, 2020
December 10, 2020
How the IMF is Promoting Transparent and Accountable Use of COVID-19 Financial Assistance
November 2, 2020
October 21, 2020
October 21, 2020
October 20, 2020
October 20, 2020
June 5, 2020
May 29, 2020
IMF Flexible Credit Line (FCL)
The Flexible Credit Line (FCL) was designed to meet the demand for crisis-prevention and crisis-mitigation lending for countries with very strong policy frameworks and track records in economic performance. This instrument was created as part of the process of reforming how the IMF lends money to countries that find themselves in a cash crunch, with the idea of tailoring its lending instruments to the diverse needs and circumstances of member countries. To date, five countries, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Poland, have used the FCL.[1] While none of the countries have so far drawn down on these lines, the FCL has provided a valuable backstop for these countries and helped boost market confidence during the period of heightened risks.
April 22, 2020
April 15, 2020
Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust
The Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) allows the IMF to provide grants for debt relief for the poorest and most vulnerable countries hit by catastrophic natural disasters or public health disasters. The relief on debt service payments frees up additional resources to meet exceptional balance of payments needs created by the disaster and for containment and recovery. Established in February 2015 during the Ebola outbreak and modified in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCRT grants complement donor financing and IMF concessional lending through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
April 9, 2020
April 9, 2020
March 31, 2020
March 30, 2020
March 27, 2020
IMF Stand-By Arrangement (SBA)
In an economic crisis, countries often need financing to help them overcome their balance of payments problems. Since its creation in June 1952, the IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) has been the workhorse lending instrument for emerging and advanced market countries. The SBA was upgraded in 2009 along with the Fund’s broader toolkit to be more flexible and responsive to member countries’ needs. Conditions were streamlined and simplified, and more funds were made available up front. The reform also enables broader high-access on a precautionary basis.
March 27, 2020
March 27, 2020
March 25, 2020
Exogenous Shocks Facility- High Access Component (ESF-HAC)
The Exogenous Shocks Facility-High Access Component (ESF-HAC), which was established in 2008, has provided concessional financing to Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT)-eligible countries facing balance of payments needs caused by sudden and exogenous shocks. As part of a broader reform to make the Fund’s financial support more flexible and better tailored to the diverse needs of LICs, the ESF-HAC has been superseded by the Standby Credit Facility (SCF), which became effective in January 2010. Credit outstanding from ESF-HAC arrangements amounts to SDR 18.78 million as of end-January 2020, and ESF-HAC terms will continue to apply to these balances.
March 25, 2020
March 25, 2020
March 25, 2020
March 25, 2020
March 25, 2020
The IMF is a quota-based institution. Quotas are the building blocks of the IMF’s financial and governance structure. An individual member country’s quota broadly reflects its relative position in the world economy. Quotas are denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the IMF’s unit of account.
March 24, 2020
March 23, 2020
March 13, 2020
IMF Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL)
The global financial crisis highlighted the need for effective global financial safety nets to help countries cope with adverse shocks. A key objective of lending reforms since the global financial crisis was to complement the traditional crisis resolution role of the IMF with more effective tools for crisis prevention. The Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) is designed to flexibly meet the liquidity needs of member countries with sound economic fundamentals but with some remaining vulnerabilities that preclude them from using the Flexible Credit Line (FCL). To date, two countries, the Republic of North Macedonia and Morocco, have used the PLL.
March 13, 2020
March 13, 2020
March 13, 2020
March 12, 2020
Joint World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries
Low-income countries (LICs) have often struggled with large external
debts. The IMF and the
World Bank
have developed a framework to help guide countries and donors in
mobilizing the financing of LICs' development needs, while reducing the
chances of an excessive build-up of debt in the future. The
Debt Sustainability Framework
(DSF) was introduced in April 2005 and is periodically reviewed. The
current framework was approved by IMF and World Bank Executive Boards in September 2017 and has been implemented since July 2018.
March 12, 2020
March 3, 2020
March 3, 2020
March 3, 2020
The IMF places great emphasis on promoting good governance when providing policy advice, financial support, and technical assistance to its member countries. The IMF also has measures in place to ensure integrity, impartiality, and honesty in the discharge of its own professional obligations.
February 28, 2020
Thematic Funds for Capacity Development (CD)
The IMF maintains a limited number of thematic funds that cover critical areas in IMF capacity development, and are complemented by the IMF’s extensive network of regional capacity development centers. External partners help finance these funds.
February 28, 2020
Regional Capacity Development Centers
The IMF has a global network of centers that coordinate much of its
capacity development
work in countries. Tailored to regional priorities, centers work closely with member countries and development partners to respond quickly to emerging needs. Member and host countries, as well as external partners, help the IMF finance these centers. Their activities are complemented by capacity development financed by the IMF’s thematic funds on capacity development and the IMF’s own resources.
February 26, 2020
February 12, 2020
January 17, 2020
June 3, 2019
March 28, 2019
March 27, 2019
March 25, 2019
IMF Standards for Data Dissemination
The IMF has taken steps to enhance member country transparency and openness, including setting voluntary standards for dissemination of economic and financial data. The Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) was established in 1996 to guide members that have, or might seek, access to international capital markets in providing their economic and financial data to the public. The General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) was established in 1997 for member countries with less developed statistical systems as a framework for evaluating their needs for data improvement and setting priorities. In 2012, the SDDS Plus was created as an upper tier of the IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives to help address data gaps identified during the global financial crisis. In 2015 the enhanced GDDS (e-GDDS) replaced the GDDS. More than 97 percent of IMF member countries participate in the e-GDDS, SDDS, or SDDS Plus.
March 25, 2019
March 13, 2019
March 8, 2019
February 25, 2019