IMF’s biggest borrowers

The largest outstanding loans from the IMF were issued to European countries, notably Greece and Portugal.

Euro notes FOR EMPIRE IMF

Most countries turn to the International Monetary Fund for a loan when they run into dire financial woes. In the past few years, European countries have been the biggest borrowers of loans from the organisation.

The following map shows the outstanding IMF loans borrowed by countries around the world. The biggest borrowers right now are in Europe: Greece, for example, has more than $25bn in outstanding loans from the IMF.

Note: The amounts on this map are in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an international reserve currency created by the IMF. As of January 13, 2012, the value of 1 SDR is $1.52.

Source: IMF, News Agencies