"The African Development Report 2006" is the eighteenth annual survey of economic and social progress in Africa. The Report provides comprehensive analysis of the state of the African economy, examining development policy issues affecting the economic prospects of the continent. The African Development Bank Group is a regional multilateral development finance institution the members of which are all of the 53 countries in Africa and 25 countries from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America. The purpose of the Bank is to further the economic development and social progress of African countries individually and collectively. To this end, the Bank promotes the investment of public and private capital for development, primarily by providing loads and grants for projects and programs that contribute to poverty reduction and broad- based sustainable development in Africa. The non-concessional operations of the Bank are financed from its ordinary capital resources. In addition, the Bank's soft window affiliates - the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund - provide concessional financing to low- income countries that are not able to sustain loans on market terms.