Side by Side: Who Holds the Votes at the IMF?
The world’s money is gathering in Bangkok. The monk counted the chairs.
The IMF decides by weighted vote, each member’s weight fixed by its quota. The fund’s own table, dated 30 April 2026, counts 5,041,052 votes in all. Below, each country’s share of those votes sits beside its share of the world economy at purchasing power parity, from the IMF’s April 2026 projections. Where the table prints only a group’s total, the monk divided the country’s own votes by the whole.
United States
16.49 percent of the votes. 14.5 percent of the world economy. The big decisions on how the fund is run need 85 percent, so anyone holding more than 15 can say no alone. The arithmetic of a veto fits on a napkin.
China
6.08 percent of the votes. 19.9 percent of the economy. About a fifth of the world’s output, about a sixteenth of the say.
Japan
6.14 percent of the votes. 3.26 percent of the economy. A little more say than China, from about a sixth of the output. Arriving early is also a currency.
Europe
Germany: 5.31 percent of the votes, 2.88 percent of the economy. Britain and France: 4.03 percent of the votes each, against roughly 2.1 percent of the economy each. The continent sits comfortably.
India
2.63 percent of the votes. 8.49 percent of the economy. India produces more than Germany, Britain and France put together and holds about a fifth of their combined vote.
The rest of the table
Canada and Brazil hold 2.22 percent each; Canada accounts for 1.31 percent of world output, Brazil 2.35. Saudi Arabia: 2.01 against 1.30. Mexico: 1.80 against 1.61. South Korea: 1.73 against 1.59. Australia: 1.33 against 0.94. Pakistan: 0.43 against 0.81.
Verdict
The early arrivals have the good chairs. The fast growers are standing at the back holding the coats. Changing the seating plan needs 85 percent of the room, which is to say it needs Washington. The meeting in Bangkok will be very well attended.