Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are undergoing a profound transformation. From Morocco to Yemen, popular movements have called for reforms to make government more inclusive and more accountable, extend social and economic freedoms, and boost employment...

Social accountability is increasingly recognized as a way to make governance reforms and development efforts more effective in responding to the needs of citizens. Supporting initiatives that strengthen social accountability at the regional and national levels is consistent with the priority the...

The report estimates Middle East and North Africa's (MENA's) infrastructure investment and maintenance needs through 2020 at 106 billion dollars per year or 6.9 percent of the annual regional gross domestic product (GDP). Developing oil exporting countries (OEC) will need to commit almost 11...

This quick note provides an overview of the World Bank report striving for better jobs: the challenge of informality in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The report was completed as a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests swept across the Arab world. Millions of young people...

The full report on which this Quick Note is based argues that Middle East and North Africa's (MENA's) financial systems contributed significantly to these unsatisfactory outcomes by failing to provide affordable access to finance to large segments of the enterprise and household sectors. The...

Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are undergoing a profound transformation. From Bahrain to Yemen, from Tunisia to Egypt, popular movements are calling for political change and a more inclusive development path that will provide ordinary citizens with greater...

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has made impressive strides in reducing gender gaps in human development. The ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education is 0.96, women in the region are more likely than men to attend university, maternal mortality is around 200...

MENA felt the impact of the financial and economic crisis to a much lesser extent than developed economies and emerging markets outside Asia, however, the economic recovery in MENA has also lacked vigor. Before the recent uprisings, MENA was expected to return to pre-crisis growth rates of 4.8...

Increased labor mobility bears large potential benefits for human development and poverty reduction through various channels including more competitive global labor markets and increased efficiency in the matching of skills supply and demand. Bank support for enhanced and better managed...

The brief includes the following headings: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) vulnerability to climate change; World Bank program - overall approach; reducing vulnerability; carbon emissions and low carbon growth; promoting low-carbon growth; and region-wide activities