IMF Headquarters, Washington DC

The International Monetary Fund has approved measures to give more voting power to developing nations, at the expense of the IMF's industrialized members.

An IMF statement issued Friday says the Fund's executive board decided to overhaul the institution's governance structure to better reflect the role each member plays in the global economy.

Countries with fast-growing economies, such as Brazil, China, India and South Korea, will get the biggest boost in voting power. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says this is the beginning of a broader process to balance voting shares among the Fund's 185 members.

In total, about 5.5 percent of the IMF's voting shares will transfer to countries that have been underrepresented.

The executive board's proposal will go before all IMF members for a final vote next month. If the plan is approved, IMF officials said 135 of the Fund's members will get larger voting shares.

Friday's statement said the executive board will consider further power redistribution every five years.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.