Press Release No. 96/3

Press Release: IMF to Open Archives for Documents More Than 30 Years Old

January 19, 1996

The International Monetary Fund has decided that persons outside the IMF will be given access, on request, to documentary materials in the IMF archives that are more than 30 years old. As a result of this decision, the IMF will automatically declassify all materials in its archives when 30 years old, except for a few that are highly confidential or sensitive.

The decision to open the archives follows a number of initiatives by the IMF toward providing greater openness with respect to its operations and activities. These initiatives have included a decision in July 1994 to release background reports on recent economic developments, and statistical annexes and appendices (See News Brief No. 94/17).