This report builds on the consensus developed at the August 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. It draws on the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. And it looks beyond, to 2050, to envision a future that is far more prosperous and more equitable...

This World Bank Annual Report highlights the focus of the Bank activities in addressing worldwide poverty, describing the Bank work in promoting sustainable, economic growth, and in channeling needed services to poor people. Also detailed is the Bank's work toward achieving the Millennium...

Since the early 1990s, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region have made admirable progress in reducing the gap between girls and boys in areas such as access to education and health care. Indeed, almost all young girls in the Region attend school, and more women than men are...

There are significant economic gains to be realized if the East Africa sub region improves the overall integration of its markets. But infrastructure development that links markets across countries faces particular challenges, political, institutional, and economic. In the case of East Africa,...

The World Bank research program seeks to improve the design of Bank-financed projects, and programs to increase the effectiveness of aid, and improve recognition of emerging problems, in a responsive manner to crises. Moreover, this program supports policy-oriented research in developing, and...

This report reviews growth trends in Armenia for the period 1994-2000, outlines major weaknesses of existing development patterns, and suggests a package of policy recommendations designed to accelerate enterprise restructuring, attract investment, and encourage the creation of new businesses in...

The little data book is a pocket edition of the global financial development database published as part of the work on the Global Financial Development Report 2014 : financial inclusion. The book has put more emphasis on access indicators and, in particular, includes additional variables...

Revenue administration is a major point of contact between government and the people. Good revenue administration thus becomes an important feature of good governance. This fact has made policy makers increasingly mindful of the need to promote voluntary tax compliance by reducing the costs...

The world economy is in the midst of a transformative change. One of the most visible outcomes of this transformation is the rise of a number of dynamic emerging-market countries to the helm of the global economy. It is likely that, by 2025, emerging economies, such as Brazil, China, India,...

The report is intended to provide a consistent, and convenient set of data to monitor development programs, and aid flows in the Africa region, while continuing the succession of data publication series, began in 1989 by the World Bank, in cooperation with the United Nations Development...