| The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. It is not a bank in the common sense, but is made up of two unique development institutions owned by 184 member countries - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Developmentt (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction an dthe impovement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while the 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. |
