EVER wondered what the World Bank does?

The World Bank was first established in 1944 as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to facilitate the reconstruction and development of war-torn Europe after WWII.

But the mission of the World Bank has evolved since then, to the present day mandate of worldwide poverty allevation, and is now a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world.

It is thus not a bank in the common sense. It is made up of two development institutions – the IBRD and the International Development Association (IDA) – owned by 185 member countries.

The two institutions play a different but supportive role in the World Bank’s mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together they provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.