The World Bank is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with development. Its activity began with helping to rebuild Europe after World War II, an idea that crystallized during World War II in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Post-conflict reconstruction is a general focus of the Bank’s activity given the natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, and post-conflict rehabilitation needs affecting developing and transitioning economies, but today the Bank has increased its focus on poverty reduction as a broader objective for all of its work. It focuses its efforts on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approved by the United Nations membership in 2000, which aim to achieve sustainable poverty reduction.

The World Bank Group is a group of five global organizations, responsible for financing countries for development and reducing their spending, as well as promoting and protecting global investment. It was established with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the Bretton Woods Conference, and together they are referred to as the Bretton Woods institutions. It began doing business on January 27, 1946. The current president is Ajay Banga.