The IMF’s principal statistical publication, International Financial Statistics (IFS) Online, is the standard source of international statistics on all aspects of international and domestic finance. For most countries, IFS Online reports data on balance of payments, international investment position, international liquidity, monetary and financial statistics, exchange rates, interest rates, prices, production, government accounts, national accounts, and population. Updated monthly.

This June 2015 issue of International Financial Statistics (IFS) is a standard source of statistics on all aspects of international and domestic finance. IFS publish, for most countries of the world, current data on exchange rates, international liquidity, international banking, money and banking, interest rates, prices, production, international transactions (including balance of payments and international investment position), government finance, and national accounts. Information is presented in tables for specific countries and in tables for area and world aggregates. IFS is published monthly and annually. In IFS, exchange rates are expressed in time series of national currency units per SDR (the unit of account for the IMF) and national currency units per US dollar, or vice versa.

This 2016 yearbook issue of International Financial Statistics is a standard source of statistics on all aspects of international and domestic finance. The monthly printed issue of IFS reports current monthly, quarterly, and annual data, while the yearbook reports 12 observations of annual data. Most annual data on the CD-ROM and Internet begin in 1948; quarterly and monthly data generally begin in 1957; most balance-of-payments data begin in 1970. The notes to the country tables in the monthly issues provide information about exceptions in the choice of the consumer price index (generally line 64) and the period average exchange rate index. Quotas are reviewed at intervals of not more than five years. The reviews take account of changes in the relative economic positions of members and the growth of the world economy. The General Resources Account resources consist of the currencies of Fund member countries, SDRs, and gold.

This 2018 yearbook issue of International Financial Statistics (IFS) is a standard source of statistics on all aspects of international and domestic finance. The IMF publishes calculated effective exchange rates data only for countries that have given their approval. The country, euro area, and world tables provide measures of effective exchange rates, compiled by the IMF’s Research Department, Statistics Department, and area departments. The real effective exchange rate index in line rec is derived from the nominal effective exchange rate index, adjusted for relative changes in consumer prices. Consumer price indices, often available monthly, are used as a measure of domestic costs and prices for these countries.

This chapter presents a report on International Financial Statistics (IFS). The country tables normally include data on a country’s exchange rates, IMF position, international liquidity, monetary statistics, interest rates, prices, production, labor, international transactions, government accounts, national accounts, and population. Selected series, including data on Fund accounts, international reserves, and international trade, are drawn from the country tables and published in world tables as well. Exchange rates in IFS are classified into three broad categories, reflecting the role of the authorities in determining the rates and/or the multiplicity of the exchange rates in a country. In IFS, exchange rates are expressed in time series of national currency units per SDR (the unit of account for the IMF) and national currency units per US dollar, or vice versa. The country tables, euro area tables, and world tables provide measures of effective exchange rates, compiled by the IMF’s Research Department, Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, Statistics Department, and area departments.

This paper focuses on composition of the basket that was changed on the basis of updated data for 1972–1976. The weights of some currencies were also changed. The amount of each of the 16 currencies in the revised basket was such as to ensure that the value of the Special Drawing Right (SDR) in terms of any currency on June 30, 1978 was exactly the same in the revised valuation as in the previous valuation. Since January 1, 1981, the value of the SDR has been determined based on the currencies of the five member countries having the largest exports of goods and services during the 5-year period ending one year before the date of the latest revision to the valuation basket. Broadly reflecting the currencies’ relative importance in international trade and finance, the weights are based on the value of the exports of goods and services of the members issuing these currencies and the balances of their currencies officially held by members of the IMF.

This issue of International Financial Statistics (IFS), Country Notes presents, in two sections, brief information on the data published in IFS. The first section provides a description of the compilation techniques underlying selected area and world tables. The second identifies for each country the standard sources of the statistics and provides some explanatory material on each country’s data, including any breaks in the series. Country Notes is designed to be a companion volume to each version of IFS: the monthly print edition, the yearbook, the CD-ROM, and the Internet. It will normally appear as an annual volume and will be shipped with the print edition of the International Financial Statistics Yearbook during August each year. The aggregate Industrial Production Index for the industrial countries as a group is calculated by the Statistics Department from industrial and manufacturing production indices that are published in the country pages. Private commercial banks report data based on the Gregorian calendar, while state-owned commercial banks report data based on the Solar calendar. This results in differences in the interbank positions for other depository corporations.