About ADB

Membership and Staffing

Activities | ADB and Its Partners | Funding and Lending | Opportunities

How many members own ADB?

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How does a country become a member of ADB?

Membership is open to

• members and associate members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific - formerly the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East

• other regional countries and non-regional developed countries which are members of the United Nations or of any of its specialized agencies

Any country wishing to join ADB which fulfills these criteria may apply for membership. This is decided, on a consensus basis, by the existing membership.

For further details, read our charter.

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How many staff does ADB have?

ADB's staff numbers just over 2,000.

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Where do ADB staff come from?

ADB staff come from around 50 member countries. Over half are Filipino, but the culture of ADB is international.

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Is the President of ADB always Japanese?

By tradition, the President is Japanese. The charter states that the President must be from a regional member country.

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