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How the World Bank Group Is Organized This chapter explains how the World Bank Group is governed and how it is organized to do its work. It provides detailed information on the five World Bank Group institutions and other major organizational units. The final section explains the World Bank Group’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations.
Governance of the World Bank Group Each of the five institutions of the World Bank Group has its own Articles of Agreement or an equivalent founding document. These documents legally define the institution’s purpose, organization, and operations, including the mechanisms by which it is owned and governed. By signing these documents and meeting the requirements set forth in them, a country can become a member of the Bank Group institutions.
Ownership by Member Countries Each Bank Group institution is owned by its member countries (which are its shareholders). The number of member countries varies by institution, from 187 in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to 146 in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), as of April 2011. Chapter 3 explains the requirements for membership and the country classifications that the Bank Group uses. In practice, member countries govern the Bank Group through its institutions’ Boards of Governors and the Boards of Directors. These bodies make all major policy decisions for the organization (figure 1.1).
Boards of Governors The World Bank Group operates under the authority of its Boards of Governors. Each of the member countries of the Bank Group institutions
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