The IMF currently has 189 member countries, the Republic of Nauru having joined the Fund on 12 April 2016.
Every member country is assigned a quota based on its relative position in the global economy. IMF quotas fulfil the following key functions:
The IMF uses a formula to calculate quotas and determine the relative position of a given member country. The current quota formula is2:
Quota = (0.50*GDP + 0.30*Openness+ 0.15*Variability +0.05*Reserves)^K.
[1] After the 2008 reform, the number of basic votes was set at 5.502% of total votes. The current number of basic votes is almost triple what it was before implementation of the 2008 reforms.
[2] The variables are defined as:
GDP = 60% market GDP and 40% PPP GDP; average over three years
Openness = annual average of the sum of current payments and current receipts (goods, services, income and transfers) over a five-year period
Variability = variability of current receipts and net capital flows (standard deviation from the centred average over three years, over a period of 13 years)
Reserves = official gold and currency reserves (monthly average over a recent year)
K = compression factor equal to 0.95
Updated on: 06/12/2018 10:34