2026 Comprehensive Surveillance Review
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Overview
- The 2026 Comprehensive Surveillance Review (2026 CSR) sets priorities for strengthening IMF surveillance over the next five to ten years.
- The IMF periodically reviews its surveillance to ensure that it remains fit-for-purpose given changes in the global economy.
- The most recent Comprehensive Surveillance Review, which concluded in September 2026, assesses progress since the 2021 CSR and sets priorities for the next five to ten years.
- The 2026 CSR draws on staff reviews of Article IV staff reports and multilateral surveillance reports, analysis, and consultations with internal and external stakeholders.
- The review is set in the context of a global economy facing several profound transformational forces, overlapping shocks, and exceptionally high uncertainty.
Strategic priorities and aims
- Deliver more tailored and integrated policy advice across fiscal, monetary, financial, and structural policy areas to support domestic stability, build resilience, and implement critical growth-enhancing reforms.
- Sharpen analysis of risks and spillovers and make surveillance more agile and responsive to countries’ evolving circumstances.
- Strengthen the IMF’s ability to support member countries and global economic stability through monitoring and assessing members’ policies and providing policy advice.
Expected results of the 2026 CSR
- More granular, tailored, and integrated policy advice in fiscal, monetary, financial and structural policy areas.
- More comprehensive external sector assessment and better integration of external sector analysis and policy advice, with more consistent and systematic coverage of outward spillovers from policies implemented by systemically important countries.
- More focused coverage of risks and contingent policy advice, supported by more in-depth analysis of how shocks could affect the economy and how policymakers should respond if risks materialize.
- Greater clarity on the application of the macrocriticality criterion in bilateral surveillance and a more disciplined approach to institutional engagement in non-traditional policy areas.
- More agile and modernized surveillance modalities, including:
- more continuous engagement between Article IV consultations;
- better use of AI-enabled tools;
- extended Article IV cycles for countries with IMF-supported programs.
- For member countries, these changes mean more timely advice and more flexible engagement modalities reflecting evolving risks and circumstances.
Contextual challenges identified
- Rising debt burdens and high inflation in some countries constrain their ability to respond to shocks.
- Geopolitical conflicts increase uncertainty and further test countries’ resilience.
- IMF surveillance is positioned to help countries strengthen resilience—their capacity to withstand, adapt to, and recover from shocks—support growth, and navigate increasingly complex policy challenges.
Background and supporting papers
- 2026 CSR — Overview Paper: presents the findings and recommendations of the 2026 CSR and assesses the experience since the 2021 review, setting strategic and operational priorities for strengthening surveillance over the next 5–10 years.
- 2026 CSR—Background Paper on Traction of Article IV Policy Advice: provides a comprehensive analysis of implementation of policy advice presented in Article IV staff reports during 2015–25 (around 730 reports), tracking implementation outcomes, authorities’ reception, quality of advice, implementation constraints, capacity development support, and country-specific circumstances.
- 2026 CSR—Background Paper on Financial Sector Coverage and Macro-financial Integration in Article IV Consultations: takes stock of progress, assesses implementation of the 2021 CSR recommendations, evaluates the effectiveness of current macro-financial surveillance, and identifies priorities to further strengthen macro-financial surveillance.
- 2026 CSR—Background Paper on Selected Operational Issues: covers operational issues critical for implementing 2026 CSR strategic priorities, including prioritization, data provision, integrating capacity development, and streamlining; and discusses strengthening surveillance in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States, Small Developing States, and IMF-supported program countries.
- 2026 CSR—Background Paper on Stakeholder Surveys: presents detailed analysis of surveys conducted during the 2026 CSR, outlining the survey process, design, response rates, stakeholder views on trends and policy challenges over the next 5–10 years, and views on value-added, evenhandedness, and traction of Fund surveillance.
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