The countries included in the Africa region (AFR) have remained constant throughout its history, with the exception being the removal of northern African countries (Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco) into the Europe and Middle East Department (EME) in 1965. These countries have since remained in regional units responsible for Middle East countries. Records related to operations in these countries are not included in this fonds.

This fonds has been provisionally arranged into 13 series. Sub-headings are used to break up the content of this field according to provisional series. For a complete list of the provisional series, see the "System of Arrangement" field.

Operational records

The majority of the records in this fonds are country operational records. The records in the "operational records" series broadly consist of project records relating to the negotiation and administration of loans as well as general country records relating to economic and sector study. These records were created by Area Departments (1947-1972), Country Departments (CDs, 1972-1997) and Country Management Units (CMUs, 1997-2010) as well as the Economic Department (1946-1952), Technical Operations Department (TOD, 1952-1965), Projects Department (1965-1972) and regional project departments (1972 - 1987), technical departments (1987 - 1997), and sector departments (1997 - 2010). See the "Administrative history" field for a history of these units and their functions.

Records related to the Bank's projects overseen by AFR are contained in the "operational records" series. These records relate to investment, structural adjustment, and other development projects financed, co-financed, and / or managed by the Bank. Note that projects funded or co-funded by external bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), national governments, and trust funds but which were executed by the Bank are included.

Records relating to all phases of the World Bank Project Cycle, from conception through negotiation and completion,are found here. Project records contained in this fonds were created by both the unit identified as the designated record keeping unit within the Region and, in smaller number, the regional units that provided project support. Included are records relating to not only completed projects but also to abandoned (or dropped) projects (i.e. projects that were abandoned in the course of preparation or that failed to gain Board approval) and suspended projects (i.e. approved projects, including those partially disbursed, which were suspended and not resumed). Records related to the discussion and negotiation of projects that were never initiated are also included.

Correspondence files make up the bulk of the project records and relate to the identification, preparation, appraisal, negotiation, approval, supervision, fund disbursement, completion, and review of each individual project. Correspondence is in the form of letters, printed email, memoranda, telexes, and faxes. Accompanying materials most often include aide-memoires, minutes of meetings, Terms of Reference, and back-to-office reports. Correspondence is between the Bank and government officials, ambassadors, institutions, contractors, and consultants.

Project records may also include: Project Implementation Index File (PIIF) documents; executive project summary/project concept documents; annual progress reports; supplemental documents; Project Completion Reports (PCRs, also known as Completion Reports); consultant reports; supervision reports; and final versions of mandatory reports. A small amount of project-related newspaper clippings, financial statements, photographs, hand-written notes, maps, engineering plans, and copies of loan agreements and related documents may also be found. External documents received from borrowers, governments, contractors, consultants, etc., including studies, reports, plans, specifications, PIIF documents, etc., are also included.

General country files are also included in the "operational records" series. These refer to correspondence (often in the form of chronological files), topical and subject files, and other records related to IBRD/IDA lending programs, other than those maintained for individual loans and credits. Records relate to economic, social, and sector work study, research, analysis, and the development of sector and country programs, policies, and strategies. Specifically, these records might relate to: capital markets; indebtedness; investment law; missions to the country; technical assistance; disbursement; government relations; inquiries; local bond issues; cofinancing; consultative groups; aid groups; country liaison; resident representatives; Country Program Papers (CPP) preparation; and Project Implementation Review (PIR). Records relating to and filed according to the various sectors of investment are also included. In each series, country sector files may include but are not limited to: agriculture; education; energy; industrial development and finance; industry; population; health; nutrition; telecommunications; tourism; transportation; urban development; water and sewage; governance; public sector development; private sector development; and social development. General country file records take the form of correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, notes for files, back-to-office reports, aide-memoires, briefing papers, and reports. Records relating to other analytical and advisory activities (AAA) and the related collection of data for these activities may also be included. These records may include research material in the form of surveys and spreadsheets and guides created or used for analysis or processing of data.

Country-specific records relating to country program management are also included in the "operational records" series. These records were maintained primarily by the Country Department headquarter units and were used to document Bank Group assistance planning and strategy for each country. Records may relate to the creation of Bank reports such as: the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS); Country Briefs; Country Strategy Papers; Country Economic Memor