Online Media Briefing Center (OMBC) news for accredited journalists
Highlights
: Here are the latest bi-annual regional economic updates to explore the macro development trends in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.
Despite their high potential to advance global prosperity, one-half of the world’s 75 most vulnerable countries are facing a widening income gap with the wealthiest economies for the first time in this century, a new World Bank report has found.
The cost of damage to critical infrastructure in Gaza is estimated at around $18.5 billion according to a new report released today by the World Bank and the United Nations, with the financial support of the European Union. That is equivalent to 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022.
The World Bank Group today published sought-after proprietary statistics that reveal the credit risk profile of private and public sector investments in emerging markets. Making this data publicly available is the latest in a concerted effort to drive more private sector investment to emerging and developing economies.
Domestic food price inflation remains high. Inflation higher than 5% is experienced in 57.1% of low-income countries (a 2.9 percentage point decrease since the last update on March 28, 2024), 63.8% of lower-middle-income countries (no change), 36% percent of upper-middle-income countries (3.0 percentage points lower), and 21.8% of high-income countries (5.5 percentage points lower).
For the first time, the work of all World Bank Group financing institutions will be tracked through the same set of indicators. The new scorecard will track the Bank’s overarching vision of ending poverty on a livable planet.
The World Bank Group today issued the following statement on Gaza: “With more than half the population of Gaza on the brink of famine—including children and the elderly—the World Bank Group calls for urgent action to save lives. We join the international community in calling for immediate, free, and unimpeded access of medical supplies, food and life-essential services through all available means at speed and scale to the people of Gaza.”
Over the coming three years, the World Bank Group intends to provide more than US$6 billion of support to Egypt, including US$3 billion for financial support to Government’s programs and US$3 billion for the private sector (including mobilization) – subject to Board approval.
