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Agriculture Environment Featured World

Addressing food insecurity in the Middle East and North Africa: innovations in data monitoring

Food insecurity remains a critical issue affecting millions of people across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP). The region faces a wide range of food security challenges—from acute conflict-related humanitarian crises in some areas to affordability concerns in others, and from high levels of economic prosperity to accompanying nutritional deficits. The food […]

Economy Climate Environment Featured

Timelines for Change: Timing Issues in Port Reforms

In port reform, timing isn’t just another detail — it represents the difference between a smooth transition and a stalled project. Master plans run for decades, political cycles run for years, and stakeholder trust is built day by day. Getting the pacing right—what changes happen when, and how fast—is often the hidden determinant of success. […]

Economy Featured Finance News

Sri Lanka economy reports 4.9% growth in second quarter

Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector grew by 2% in the second quarter from a year earlier. Sri Lanka’s economy grew 4.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, official data showed on Monday, indicating a strengthening recovery from its worst financial crisis in decades. Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector grew by 2% in the second quarter from […]

Featured Business Development Economy World

Reimagining development in fragile and conflict-affected settings

Fragility is no longer the exception. It is the new development realityFragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) are not abstract to us. They are lived realities. Today, nearly half of the world’s extremely poor live in FCV settings, and that number is rising. We have felt the impact of fragility firsthand. We have seen how it […]

Finance Banking Education Featured World

Unlocking SME growth: Key lessons from Ecuador’s loan program

Governments and development institutions spend billions to help small businesses access financing, hoping this will create jobs and support inclusive economic growth. But we don’t really know if these programs reach the firms that need help most and help them grow. In a recent paper, we evaluate a loan program in Ecuador implemented by the state […]

Education Economy Featured News World

Education is a key to jobs, growth, and lifelong learning

Education is a foundation for good jobs and the surest way out of poverty. We know a good education equips learners with important foundational skills—literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional competencies—which are essential for work and life. These skills help today’s children become tomorrow’s productive workers and enable workers to reskill or upskill later in life.   Investing […]

Finance Banking Featured News World

Crypto, tokenisation, and the future of payments

The introduction of crypto technology and tokenisation is spurring changes in the financial system. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking steps to integrate crypto into traditional finance, most notably the GENIUS Act’s establishment of a regulatory regime for payment stablecoins. This column explores the US’ policy goals concerning digital assets and argues that tokenisation – […]

Banking Business Featured Finance News

Behind the scenes: How we work with creditors on debt transparency

Earlier this year, the World Bank conducted the second round of a Data Sharing Exercise with G-7 and Paris Club creditors. This is the first large-scale effort of its kind to systematically compare creditor- and debtor-reported data at the loan-by-loan level. Since the release of the March 2025 report, the 2025 G-7 Finance Ministers’ Communiqué highlighted the exercise and […]

Agriculture Climate Featured News World

Can everyone afford to eat healthy? New data show progress, but not everywhere

Low-income countries and Sub-Saharan Africa are being left behind in global progress toward affordable healthy diets. Around 2.6 billion people – 32% of the global population – could not afford a healthy diet in 2024 The latest estimates of the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (CoAHD), published in the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition […]

Business Featured News World

Laws, Data, and Empowerment: Insights from UNDP’s Women’s Empowerment Index and World Bank’s Women Business and Law Index

When it comes to improving economic outcomes for women and women’s empowerment, effective action requires reliable data. Yet, data capturing the full scope of women’s lives is often scarce, making it hard to identify what holds women—and entire economies and societies—back. Without solid evidence, the path to women enjoying the same opportunities as men is […]