Interesting World Bank Facts For Kids: Functions, Objectives, And More

The World Bank was initially known as International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The World Bank has a major role in the developing world and world economy. It is associated with United Nations (UN).

The World Bank gives loans for economic growth and development of poor and developing nations. It has five groups, namely the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Cooperation (IFC), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

It is working to end extreme poverty and adapt sustainable growth. David Malpass is the current President and Axen van Trotsenburg is the managing director of the World Bank.

It was founded by the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Its headquarters are situated in Washington D.C., United States.

The World Bank has various goals like eradicating poverty, universal education, gender equality, reducing child mortality rate, improving maternal health, sustainability of the environment, combating diseases (like AIDS and Malaria), climate change, and global partnership. The main goal of the World Bank is to reduce poverty.

There are 189 countries that are a member of the World Bank Group. They are also the donor countries. The top stakeholder countries are the United States, Japan, China, Germany, France, United Kingdom, India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Italy, and so on.

The voting power also lies with the member countries only. The World Bank has helped the poorest countries and helped in poverty reduction. It is the international center for taking loans.

It gives various term plans to the borrowing countries. The bank president takes most of the decisions. The World Bank staff consists of over 10,000 employees.

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History Of World Bank

The World Bank is a part of the World Bank Group. It is an important organization that has helped various countries to combat poverty and improve their growth economically. Most of its powers lie with the member countries. The World Bank has not only helped the governments but also the private sector.

The World Bank was initially known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The World Bank was founded in 1944. It was established as an international economic system after World War II. It was founded at the Bretton Woods Conference, also popularly known as UN Monetary and Financial Conference.

The World Bank started operating in June 1946 It gave the first loan to the European countries for construction after the war. Later in the 1950s, the World Bank financed various investments including roads, seaports, airports, sewage, water facilities, and dams.

It has now formed five institutes that work in various fields. They are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Cooperation (IFC), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

IFC was founded in 1956 and started giving loans to private firms in developing countries. The launch of IDA greatly helped poor countries and underdeveloped countries. It helped in poverty reduction in various countries. Eradication of poverty also became the primary goal of the World Bank.

The developing countries and war-stricken countries have been hugely benefitted by the World Bank. They have not only helped in the poorest countries’ economic growth but also in their overall development projects.

Functions Of World Bank

The member countries make important decisions for the World Bank. They have helped many countries and offered them a loan for their economic development. Even the private sector has been benefitted from their policies and initiatives.

They provide monetary advice and technical assistance too. They also provide various other services. Some of the World Bank’s functions are given below.

The World Bank gives loans to countries that have been devastated by war or natural disasters. The World Bank provides financial aid to poor countries. This helps them to provide better living standards to their citizens, increase their economy, and combat poverty.

The World Bank provides development loans to underdeveloped and developing countries. The World Bank provides loans for agricultural practices, medicine, and water resources to the government of a country. The World Bank also provides advice on economical, technical, and money-related issues.

The World Bank promotes foreign investment among different organizations. The World Bank also provides loans to the government for specific products. The World Bank promotes industrial growth and gives loans for the same purpose. The World Bank’s loan has helped in improving the economy of various countries.

World Bank finances various development projects in developing and underdeveloped countries helping the citizens of that country enjoy a better standard of living and access improved facilities.

President Of World Bank

The World Bank Group consists of the World Bank. The president is the head and leader of the World Bank. The current president of the World Bank is David Malpass. He is the 13th president and was appointed on April 5, 2019. He was nominated by US President Donald Trump. He is responsible for various making important decisions.

Usually, the president is a citizen of the United States. They have also been chosen by the United States only. The United States is also the biggest stakeholder. But lately, this has not been the scenario.

The President of the World Bank is chosen after every five years. The term can also be renewed. The president must have large exposure to international associations.

He must be familiar with the public sector, have excellent communication skills, diplomatic skills, and objectivity. The president can be nominated by the executive directors. The candidate must be a citizen of the countries which are members of the Bank.

He chairs the meetings with the Board of Directors. There are over 10,000 employees working for the bank. Also, the World Bank has over 120 offices worldwide but its headquarter is in Washington D.C.

World Bank Location

The headquarters of the World Bank is located in Washington D.C. it started the work officially in June 1946. It was built about 77 years ago in July 1944. The World Bank is a part of the World Bank Group. It has 120 offices in other parts of the world.

The World Bank location is 1818 H Street NW, Washington D.C. The United States. It has various facilities in the building. There is a Preston Auditorium, JDW Atrium, MC Global Hall, and others. It is funded by rich countries like the United States. The U.S. is its largest shareholder and has 17.25% shares in the World Bank.

The World Bank has 189 countries as its members. It is owned by these countries only. All of them are represented by the Board of Governors. These governors make the policies.

Annual meetings are held between the Board of Governors and the International Monetary Fund. The capital markets interlink various investors and companies together. The World Bank works on various fields of issues like climate change, sustainable development, economy, poverty, diseases, and various others.

Structure Of World Bank

All the big organizations need a specific structure to work efficiently. The same goes for the World Bank. It has various constituent groups which help in the division of labor. The structure of the World Bank is given below.

The World Bank has five constituent institutions. They are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Cooperation (IFC), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

IBRD is responsible for providing loans to underdeveloped and developing countries for their growth and development. The IDA was founded in the year 1960. They are responsible to provide loans without interest.

IDA also provides policy advice regarding health, education, and development. IFA provides loans to businesses in developing countries. It also offers a partnership with private investors along with equity financing and loan guarantees.

MIGA is responsible for providing loan guarantees and investors for losses. IBRD provides settlements for monetary disputes among investors and countries. The concept of sustainable development helps to adjust economic growth and protection of the environment. It also helps to bridge the gap between rich and poor people in developing countries.

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