Factsheet

The 2022 Annual and Spring Meetings

May 2, 2022

When, where, and who?

The 2022 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the IMF are scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., during the week of October 10-16, 2022. The Board of Governors for each institution consists of one governor from each of the institutions’ member countries, typically the finance minister, central bank governor, or minister of development. During the Annual Meetings, the Boards of Governors decide on major policy issues related to the future work of the two institutions, which are subsequently implemented by their respective Executive Boards.

The Annual Meetings are usually held for two consecutive years at the IMF and World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. and every third year in another member country. A complete list of meeting sites is available on the Annual Meetings website. Traditionally, about 13,000 people attend the in-person, however, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the meetings have been held virtually and in hybrid format over the past two years. This number includes the governors themselves and their alternates, as well as members of their delegations, observers from other intergovernmental organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, and representatives from financial institutions and bodies, such as the Financial Stability Board, and various visitors, journalists, and representatives of civil society organizations.

In addition to the Annual Meetings, the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee (DC) hold meetings each spring to discuss progress on the work of the institutions. While the plenary session of the IMF and World Bank’s Board of Governors is scheduled only during the Annual Meetings in the autumn, these highly attended meetings feature an extensive program of seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets. Given the ongoing health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Annual Meetings events will be held in a hybrid format, during the week of October 10-16, 2022.

What’s on the agenda?

At the heart of both the Annual and Spring Meetings are the meetings of the DC and IMFC, which discuss progress on the work of the World Bank Group and the IMF. The IMFC advises and reports to the IMF’s Board of Governors and will discuss the outlook for the global economy, developments in financial markets, as well as other pressing issues within the IMF’s mandate. The DC advises the Board of Governors of the World Bank and the IMF on critical development issues and on the financial resources required to promote economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries. At the conclusion of each of these meetings, communiqués are released that will provide important guidance to the Executive Boards of the two institutions. This year’s Annual Meetings IMFC press conference will be held on October 14. Registered meetings participants have access to an interactive schedule of events, information on Meetings logistics, a set of Meetings-related documents, and a multimedia gallery on the IMF Connect website.

The Annual Meetings will open with the plenary, which will be held on the morning of October 14 and feature speeches by the Chairman of the Board of Governors and the heads of the two institutions.

Other events

Various country groups, such as the Group of Twenty (G-20), the Group of Twenty-Four (G-24), and the Commonwealth also take the opportunity to hold Ministerial-level meetings ahead of or during the Annual and Spring Meetings. For more details, see the Guide to Committees, Groups, and Clubs.

In addition to major press conferences by the Managing Director of the IMF and the President of the World Bank, senior staff from both institutions hold press briefings on global and regional economic outlooks and other topical issues.

In the week running up to the Annual and Spring Meetings, seminars, the New Economy Forum, Analytical Corner, Capacity Development Talks, IMF Inspired, and other discussion fora offer participants the opportunity for in-depth discussions on current issues that are of relevance to the world economy, financial stability, and economic development. The seminars—which include the Program of Seminars—are a premier global forum where policymakers, academics, civil society, the private sector, and other leaders in the international development and financial fields engage in dialogue on current global economic and financial issues of the day. For details, see the schedule of the Program of Seminars and other events including the Per Jacobsson lecture held during the week of the Annual Meetings.

A Civil Society Policy Forum is also held during the Annual and Spring Meetings. The Forum includes a series of policy dialogue sessions, which bring together Bank and Fund staff, civil society representatives, government officials, and others to discuss important issues being addressed during the Annual and Spring Meetings. Some sessions are organized by the IMF, some by the World Bank, and some by civil society organizations. For this year’s Spring Meetings, the forum is scheduled to take place during the week preceding the Ministerial-level meetings, with all session held in a virtual format. For more information related to IMF activities, summarizing events, papers, and discussions relevant to CSOs, see the IMF and Civil Society page or the World Bank’s Civil Society website.