The is distributing 145,000 solar kits across 23 provinces, providing clean electricity to six million people, improving health, education, and rural livelihoods.
World Bank
Standards are the invisible threads that keep global trade and technology running smoothly—ensuring consistency, safety, and trust. The World Bank’s reveals how these silent agreements can unlock growth, but warns that overregulation can choke progress. While vital for exports and innovation, developing countries often lack influence in setting them. A balanced mix of mandatory and voluntary, tiered standards plus strong quality infrastructure can boost participation and trust. Ambition must match capacity to avoid inefficiency and inequality.
Despite conflicts, debt pressures, and climate shocks, 2025 proved more resilient than expected for the global economy. Growth held at around 2.7 percent as countries adapted through digitalization, AI adoption, and diversified supply chains. Against this backdrop, the its central mission, recognizing jobs as the strongest path out of poverty and instability. With 1.2 billion young people entering the workforce over the next decade, the Bank focused on five high-impact sectors: energy and infrastructure, agribusiness, health care, tourism, and manufacturing. By mobilizing private capital and partnerships, 2025 laid the groundwork for inclusive, job-driven growth heading into 2026.
Building true climate resilience in developing countries requires empowering people and markets, to adapt proactively rather than merely react to disasters.
As the planet weeps for its dwindling water resources, the World Bank’s reveals alarming trends: we lose 324 billion cubic meters of fresh water each year, meeting the annual needs of 280 million people. Over the last two decades, fresh water reserves have dropped by 3% annually, with arid regions facing declines of up to 10%. This crisis threatens not only our ecosystems but also employment, agriculture, and energy production. As world leaders convene in Belem, Brazil, for COP30, they will have vital insights to tackle these pressing challenges and foster a sustainable future.
The ’s IDA21 programme is working to help people in the world’s poorest countries by using $100 billion in financial commitments to create jobs, improve services, and protect the planet.
Developing economies currently face a significant investment shortfall, requiring about 5% of global GDP annually to meet development goals, with low-income countries needing 8%. Since the 2008 financial crisis, investment growth in these regions has slowed dramatically, particularly in private investment and foreign direct investment (FDI). Nevertheless, new World Bank research indicates that investment miracles are possible, as evidenced by 115 investment accelerations over seven decades that doubled GDP growth and significantly reduced poverty. However, such accelerations have become increasingly rare since the 2000s, affected by global conditions and domestic policy challenges.
Amid rising climate shocks, African leaders are redefining development by linking ecological stability with inclusive, resilient economic progress and job creation.
Knowledge, especially practical know-how, is crucial for countries to address development challenges and enhance resilience to disasters. Many people and businesses in emerging economies lack insurance against natural disasters, forcing governments to absorb the costs. In 2023, earthquakes in Morocco, Türkiye, and Syria highlighted this gap. In Morocco and Türkiye, public-private insurance partnerships demonstrated effectiveness in these cases, expanding access and affordability of risk coverage. The launched the to facilitate sharing of best practices among global experts and officials, with a goal of transforming knowledge into actionable solutions.
Leaders from African governments and partners are gathering this week in Japan for the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), highlighting the importance of Universal Health Coverage as essential for all. With a rapidly growing youth population in West and Central Africa, investing in health and nutrition is vital for economic potential. Strong health systems are necessary for resilience against crises like COVID-19. Despite progress, challenges remain, including limited access to care and low health spending. The aims to support health services for 1.5 billion people worldwide by 2030 – including 200 million in West and Central Africa- and is working on strategies to enhance local health systems and boost medical manufacturing across the continent.
Corruption hinders development, especially for the poor and vulnerable, by increasing costs and limiting access to essential services. For nearly three decades, the has been committed to combating corruption. Since 1996 "" speech, the international financial institution has spearheaded anti-corruption initiatives and efforts to strengthen institutions. The World Bank is using GovTech solutions to enhance transparency through digital innovations. This focus is driven by client countries’ demand for efficiency, the need to safeguard climate-related investments projected to reach $100 billion annually by 2030, intensified asset recovery efforts, and growing public demands for accountability.
With 1.2 billion young people in emerging economies reaching working age over the next decade—and only about 420 million jobs expected to be generated—the urgency of finding scalable and sustainable solutions has never been greater.
In of , we hear from one young person about their journey into the world of work and what the is doing to address one of the most urgent issues facing development: how to meet the stable employment aspirations of the developing world's fast-growing youth population.
The next generation of innovators is rising from the developing world, and the is helping them thrive. By combining insight, finance, and partnerships, we've transformed $29 billion in donor support into $1.5 trillion in real-world impact.
With just five years remaining to achieve the 2030 global goals, the Outcomes Department has sparked a bold transformation, strengthening impact, accountability, and purpose across the World Bank Group.
Initiatives like the aim to bridge the digital divide and promote inclusive access to digital services in developing countries.