{{Short description|Database maintained by the International Monetary Fund}} The '''IMF International Financial Statistics''' (IFS) is a compilation of financial data collected from various sources, covering the economies of 194 countries and areas<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.imf.org/?sk=4C514D48-B6BA-49ED-8AB9-52B0C1A0179B&sId=1438865921483 |title=IMF Data - Access to macroeconomic & Financial data - International Financial Statistics (IFS) |access-date=May 21, 2024}}</ref> worldwide, which is published monthly by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

==Methodology and scope== The IFS is the IMF’s principal statistical publication, covering numerous topics of international and domestic finance. It includes, for most countries, data on exchange rates, balance of payments, international liquidity, money and banking, interest rates, prices, etc.<ref>[http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/support/user_guides/imf/ifs.asp ESDS International, dataset guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001055007/http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/support/user_guides/imf/ifs.asp |date=2009-10-01 }}, retrieved September 15, 2009</ref> Most annual data begins in 1948, quarterly and monthly data dates back to 1957, and most balance of payments data begins in 1970.<ref>[http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/access/dataset_overview.asp#desc_IMFIFS ESDS International, dataset description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917022352/http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/access/dataset_overview.asp#desc_IMFIFS |date=2009-09-17 }}, retrieved September 15, 2009</ref>

The IMF compiles the data from various sources including government departments, national accounts, central banks, the United Nations (UN), Eurostat, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and private financial institutions.<ref>ESDS International, dataset guide</ref>

==Accessing the data== The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) International provides the macro-economic datasets free of charge for members of UK higher and further education institutions. In order to access the data, users have to be registered, which can be done [http://www.esds.ac.uk/aandp/access/access.asp here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002102635/http://www.esds.ac.uk/aandp/access/access.asp |date=2009-10-02 }}. Alternatively, the data is available to explore and download free of charge on the [http://data.imf.org/ifs IMF data portal]. In addition, the IMF offers an API based on the SDMX standard for automated downloads.

==See also== *Classification of the Functions of Government *ESDS International

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * [http://data.imf.org/ifs International Financial Statistics online] * [http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/ About ESDS International] * [https://www.sdmx.org SDMX - Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange]

Category:International Monetary Fund Category:Online databases