REGIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

Growth in Eastern and Southern Africa is projected to decelerate from 4.1 percent in 2021 to 3.1 percent in 2022 and is estimated at 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The growth deceleration in 2022 reflects short-term headwinds, the slowdown in the global economy, lingering effects of the pandemic, higher inflation, rising financial risks tied to unsustainably high public debt, ongoing supply disruptions, and impacts of the war in Ukraine.

Countries’ recovery varies widely across the region. Its two largest economies, Angola and South Africa, continue to be sluggish. South Africa is expected to see growth decline by 2.8 percentage points in 2022; while it benefits from high commodity prices, it continues to be held back by structural challenges. Angola is projected to grow by 2.7 percentage points, due partly to higher oil prices and good performance in non-oil sectors. Across the region, metal and mineral exporters are set to grow by 4.8 percent in 2022–24, reflecting gains from favorable terms of trade. Countries not rich in resources are projected to be adversely affected by rising commodity prices, dragging down growth across the region.

World Bank assistance

In fiscal 2022, the Bank approved $18.2 billion in lending to Eastern and Southern Africa for 100 operations, including $2.9 billion in IBRD commitments and $15.3 billion in IDA commitments. Revenue from Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements with five countries was $7 million.

We are helping countries respond to the impacts of the pandemic; roll out COVID-19 vaccines; build connectivity in energy, transport, and digital development; promote trade and regional value chains; support human capital development by boosting skills and empowering women; and reinforce resilience to address climate change, food security, and water challenges. We also work with partners to support cross-border approaches in fragile areas, such as the Sahel, the Great Lakes region, and the Horn of Africa.

Saving lives and livelihoods and protecting human capital

At the onset of the pandemic, the Bank moved quickly to mitigate human capital losses and protect the poorest and most vulnerable people from its worst impacts. To date, we have committed $13.1 billion to support countries’ COVID-19 responses in Eastern and Southern Africa, $4.0 billion of which was delivered in fiscal 2022. We are also providing $2.9 billion to help 20 countries buy and distribute vaccines, expand storage and cold chains, develop tracking systems, train health workers, engage citizens and communities, and strengthen health systems.

As we work toward inclusive, sustainable recovery, we continue to prioritize access to quality health services and education. In Zambia, the $155 million Emergency Health Service Delivery Project helps deliver frontline public health services to mitigate impacts of the pandemic on health and human development that could threaten livelihoods, nutrition, and long-term human capital outcomes. In Tanzania, more than 12 million children will benefit from a $500 million Program-for-Results, which aims to make preschools and primary schools safer, more inclusive, and child friendly, while enhancing teacher performance. In Malawi, the Bank is supporting a $100 million project to increase access to programs that provide technical, entrepreneurial, and vocational education and training, particularly for female students.

Creating jobs and promoting women’s economic empowerment

To help countries build back stronger, we support structural transformations across the region to improve productivity, job creation, and the business climate, as well as build social protection systems’ resilience to shocks. Through a $200 million project in Uganda, we are promoting investment along growth corridors and easing liquidity constraints to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in manufacturing and exporting. This will help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on private sector investment and employment and support new economic opportunities, including in refugee and hosting communities. In Kenya, more than 250,000 SMEs are benefiting from the Supporting Access to Finance and Enterprise Recovery Project, which fosters innovation; provides liquidity through microfinance banks, local savings cooperatives, and digital channels; and de-risks lending to expand access to finance, including for youth and women-owned enterprises.

In Burundi, the Bank Group is supporting the Cash-for-Jobs Project, which aims to scale up and improve the management of social safety net programs while expanding access to employment for the most vulnerable people. It also introduces measures to create jobs, strengthen delivery of social protection, and integrate refugees and communities into the country’s social protection systems.

Promoting inclusive growth and connectivity

Access to energy and mobile communications in Eastern and Southern Africa remains uneven, with stark differences between urban and rural areas. To address this, we help countries invest in more resilient and efficient energy and mobile network infrastructure. In Somalia, the Electricity Recovery Project is increasing access to cleaner, more affordable electricity for more than 1 million households—about 7 million people, half of whom are women. It will also enhance health and education services by providing electricity to over 200 health facilities and nearly 400 schools.

In Rwanda, we are increasing access to broadband and promoting digital innovation through the Digital Acceleration Project, which is helping 250,000 households acquire smart devices, training 3 million people in basic digital literacy, and financing at least 300 digital start-ups. It is also enabling the government to safely expand remote service delivery, including enrolling and issuing new digital ID credentials to 75 percent of its people. In Mozambique, a $300 million project is increasing access to energy and broadband services in rural and fragile areas, strengthening the country’s electricity utility, and supporting clean cooking solutions.

Tackling climate risks and food and water insecurity

The region faces worsening challenges related to climate change, and food and water insecurity continue to deepen poverty and reverse progress in human capital. In line with the Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan, we are helping countries build inclusive and sustainable food and water systems. In Angola, exposure to extreme climate events threatens people’s well-being as well as economic stability. Here we are supporting a $300 million project to improve the water supply and strengthen water resource management for greater climate resilience.

A succession of severe floods has had devastating effects in South Sudan. The second phase of the Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project is helping local communities deliver critical services—such as electricity, clean water, health care, and education—and developing national and local integrated systems for disaster risk management to better anticipate and cope with climate shocks.

In a global first, the Bank launched the Wildlife Conservation Bond to support South Africa’s efforts to conserve the endangered black rhinoceros. Known as the “Rhino Bond,” this five-year $150 million sustainable development bond will help protect and expand black rhino populations in the Addo Elephant National Park and the Great Fish River Nature Reserve.

Further Information: Eastern and Southern Africa Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2020–22

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY20	FY21	FY22
IBRD	1,716	1,525	2,907	932	325	2,441
IDA	9,581	14,089	15,266	7,904	8,081	7,133
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2022: $64.1 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: New roads are changing lives in Madagascar

In Madagascar, national road RN44 is the only connection between the rice basin of Ambatondrazaka and the main road network in the Alaotra Mangoro region. But for years, its poor condition has stunted the agricultural productivity and potential of surrounding communities. Stalled trucks were the target of ambushes, making trips to market dangerous as well as arduous.

Madagascar has one of the world’s least developed road networks. Road density is only 5.4 km per 100 sq km of land, leaving around 17 million rural residents unconnected. Most roads are in poor condition, making them highly vulnerable to cyclones. Through the $140 million Connectivity for Rural Livelihood Improvement Project, we are helping rehabilitate 148 km and two bridges along the RN44 and RN12A national roads, as well as 500 km of local roads to ensure last-mile access to nearby villages. This project is also helping set up digital information kiosks along the main roads to offer farmers real-time access to market prices and demand. With better physical and digital connectivity, rural communities can better time the sale of their products.

A 40 km section of the RN44 is now completed; farmers can now easily reach Ambatondrazaka, the region’s capital, where they can set better prices for their products. When work on the RN44 and RN12A is completed, the project will benefit 600,000 people and cut travel times by up to two-thirds. It will also improve road access to 125 schools and 45 health centers, while more than doubling the agricultural output of key products, such as lychee.

We are helping the government develop the transport sector for the long term. We are targeting investments for the most vulnerable communities and those affected by food insecurity to provide critical access and connectivity, while also improving resilience to climate shocks.  

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	398	518	695
Population growth (annual %)	2.6	2.7	2.6
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	667	1,449	1,476
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	0.7	2.3	1.7
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	228	245	288
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	53	60	67
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	49	57	62
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	356	530	603
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	57.3	47.3	43.6
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services, and primary income	12	6	25
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	85	86	87
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	75	74	70
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	138	86	58
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)b	54	68	70
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	1	5	27
Access to electricity (% of population)	20	28	46
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	65	63	61
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	23	27	31
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	41	50	60
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity.  a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2021; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates. b. Data includes all low- and middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

East Asia and Pacific looked set to overcome the challenges related to COVID-19 at the start of 2022. However, shocks from the war in Ukraine disrupted the supply of commodities, tightened financial markets, and dampened global growth. These shocks compounded risks from the effects of the pandemic, financial tightening amid rising interest rates, and China’s slowdown as it faced a resurgence of COVID-19.

While some larger countries were better equipped to weather these shocks, the repercussions have weighed on economic activity in most of the region. Projected regional growth for 2022, estimated at 5.4 percent in October 2021, dropped to 4.4 percent. If global conditions worsen and national policy responses are weak, growth could slow more markedly, to 4.0 percent, potentially trapping 6 million more people in poverty (living on less than $5.50 a day) during 2022. However, countries could lessen these risks and grasp opportunities with bold reforms of their fiscal, prudential, trade, and innovation policies.

World Bank assistance

The Bank approved $7.2 billion for 62 operations in the region in fiscal 2022, including $5.5 billion in IBRD commitments and $1.7 billion in IDA commitments. We also signed Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements with two countries for a total of $3 million.

Our work in the region focuses on four main areas: economic recovery, human capital and innovation, resilient infrastructure, and sustainability—with the COVID-19 response remaining an integral part of our work. We continue to deepen our partnerships with some of the region’s non-borrowing member countries, including Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore, allowing us to generate and exchange development lessons and solutions for shared priorities.

Building human capital

Investing in human capital is key to ensuring long-term sustainable growth and reducing poverty. In Cambodia, we are supporting the Secondary Education Improvement Project, which seeks to strengthen school-based management and upgrade teacher skills. Over 2,000 teachers and 500 school administrators have enrolled so far, obtaining computer and online skills that support both better instruction and professional development.

In Indonesia, we are supporting an emergency cash benefit to quickly reach 10 million poor and vulnerable families to preserve their livelihoods. This was complemented by IFC financing that provided additional liquidity to a food manufacturer in a frontier region to preserve jobs. In the Philippines, Bank financing enabled emergency cash transfers to 4.4 million poor and vulnerable households as well as intensive technical assistance to buttress delivery systems. IFC contributed complementary support for women-owned SMEs and microfinance in the country.

Promoting economic recovery

We help countries expand private sector opportunities and create an enabling environment for investment and innovation to promote sustainable growth. In Fiji, we are supporting reforms to enable private sector recovery, including the emergence of a corporate bond market and digital solutions to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of retail and business transactions for SMEs. In Thailand, we provided technical and analytical support for market-based instruments to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Mongolia, we helped link herders with markets and improve livestock production. We are also supporting the Southeast Asia Regional Economic Corridor and Connectivity Project, which will improve climate-resilient transport connectivity and regional trade along an east-west corridor through northern parts of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The Bank also provided financing and advisory support for Vietnam’s electricity company, which helped it achieve its first credit rating from Fitch, in turn helping the company raise market financing.

Mobilizing climate finance for resilient growth

We are helping several countries in the region—including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam—prepare roadmaps and action plans for domestic carbon pricing instruments and strengthen their legal and regulatory framework. We are also helping countries accelerate the supply of credits to reduce emissions. This includes approval of a total of $216 million in emission reductions payment agreements under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility in Fiji, Indonesia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. 

In Indonesia, we are helping rehabilitate 600,000 hectares of mangroves by strengthening the areas’ management as well as mobilizing financing from potential carbon credits. We are also working with Indonesia’s Jambi province to improve landscape management of around 5 million hectares of forests, helping reduce emissions while promoting alternative livelihoods. In Vietnam, we are helping mobilize private investors and renewable energy markets while supporting local communities by delivering over 1 million certified emissions reductions credits from small hydropower projects. These have resulted in more than $220 million in additional investment from local banks and the private sector. 

Building resilience and sustainability

East Asia and Pacific is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. We work with countries across the region to strengthen resilience, reduce pollution and emissions, support climate-smart agriculture, and transition toward clean and renewable energy. In Cambodia, we are helping improve climate resilience by upgrading road access to hospitals and schools in rural areas while reducing transportation costs and risks for agriculture supply chains and logistics. We helped Indonesia develop its first pumped storage hydropower plant, improving power generation capacity during peak demand while supporting energy transition and decarbonization.

In the Marshall Islands, we are supporting disaster protection in urban communities for more climate-resilient public facilities and urban spaces as well as better climate adaptation. This includes the construction of coastal protection—including sea walls, dikes, and embankments—to protect infrastructure in Majuro, drawing on the Bank’s knowledge products, including the Adapting to Rising Sea Levels in Marshall Islands study and the Legal Dimensions of Sea Level Rise report.

Addressing COVID-19

Since the start of the pandemic, we have provided $1.4 billion to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments in East Asia and Pacific, with emphasis on reaching the poorest and most vulnerable people. Strong partnerships and flexible financing approaches played an important role in helping countries ramp up their vaccination programs while simultaneously investing in health and social protection. This includes efforts to strengthen Fiji’s health system and to help Indonesia move quickly to ensure effective vaccine deployment.

Further Information: East Asia and Pacific Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2020–22

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY20	FY21	FY22
IBRD	4,770	6,753	5,482	4,679	4,439	5,439
IDA	2,500	1,115	1,673	1,589	1,297	1,502
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2022: $34.7 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Supporting the response to COVID-19 in the Philippines 

COVID-19 has exacted a heavy toll on the Philippines. On top of the loss of lives and impacts on health, the economy contracted 9.5 percent in 2020, amid plunges in consumption, investment, exports, tourism, and remittances. Many people lost jobs, experienced food shortages, and struggled to access health care. To limit the spread of the virus, authorities implemented quarantine restrictions and limited mobility and business operations. The country has since launched a large-scale vaccination program and strengthened its health system, with a focus on the poorest and most vulnerable people.

In April 2020, we provided $100 million to address the country’s urgent health care needs and bolster public health preparedness. This helped procure personal protective equipment; antivirals, antibiotics, and other medicines; and medical supplies and equipment, such as ventilators, cardiac monitors, x-ray machines, laboratory equipment, and test kits. In March 2021, we provided an additional $500 million to help purchase and deliver COVID-19 vaccines, prioritizing frontline health workers, senior citizens, teachers, government workers, Indigenous Peoples, and other vulnerable groups. A further $300 million in December 2021 supported vaccination for youth and booster doses for health workers and others most at risk.

With high vaccination rates and stronger capacity for health response, the Philippines is better able to manage the pandemic. Support from the Bank and other development partners has helped the country administer more than 153 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of June 2022. Today, cases are generally low. People can travel freely and access health services more easily, and most businesses are open. The economy has begun to recover, growing 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 2022. Despite global uncertainties, growth is expected to continue through 2022, amid declining numbers of COVID-19 cases, greater mobility, and the wider resumption of economic and social activities.   

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	1,816	1,966	2,122
Population growth (annual %)	1	0.7	0.4
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	910	3,755	9,300
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	6.6	9.1	6.9
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	632	212	20
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	72	75	78
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	68	71	73
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	4,137	9,648	12,492
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	34.8	10.8	0.9
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services, and primary income	16	5	10
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	82	79	80
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	62	51	45
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	42	23	14
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	92	96	98
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	2	29	67
Access to electricity (% of population)	91	95	98
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	32	16	15
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	56	74	90
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	80	88	94
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity.  a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2021; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

Following on COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the second major shock in two years to trigger an economic contraction in the developing countries of Europe and Central Asia. Regional output is forecast to shrink by 3 percent in 2022, as the impacts of the war reverberate through commodity and financial markets, trade and migration links, and business and consumer confidence.

The war has increased the risks of widespread financial stress, inflation, and food insecurity. A protracted war is likely to further heighten policy uncertainty and fragment regional integration of trade and investment. It has already caused the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

World Bank assistance

In fiscal 2022, the World Bank approved $8.5 billion in lending to the region for 47 operations, including $6.0 billion in IBRD commitments and $2.5 billion in IDA commitments. The Bank supported 16 Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements with six countries for a total of $36 million.

In the near term, we are prioritizing support to address the impacts of COVID-19 and the war. In addition to support for Ukraine and for countries hosting refugees, such as Moldova and Romania, the focus includes energy efficiency, security, and green transition; food security; and regional investment. Over the longer term, we continue to work toward four broad priorities in the region: supporting a green transition, boosting human capital, enabling markets, and building and strengthening institutions.

Supporting a green transition

A green transition has become even more important to our efforts to support growth, resilience, and inclusion in the region. While the war in Ukraine imposes urgent priorities, it also underscores the importance of accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels for greater energy security while ensuring a just transition that does not leave communities behind. We support countries in their green transition by addressing unsustainable resource extraction and environmental degradation, strengthening resilience to natural disasters and climate change, investing in inclusive infrastructure, and promoting cleaner energy. These efforts are informed by our analytical work, such as the region’s first Country Climate and Development Report for Türkiye and the EU Circular Economy Report. We are assessing where countries will lose “brown” jobs—those in sectors that rely heavily on fossil fuels and do not address potentially negative impacts on the environment—and where green jobs can be created, including to help ensure that women and youth, especially from vulnerable and marginalized communities, can better participate in the labor force.

We are supporting this transition in Poland, Serbia, and Uzbekistan by greening residential heating systems through energy efficiency and renewable energy sources such as solar. In Türkiye, we provided $300 million to scale up private sector investment in geothermal energy. In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, we are helping restore landscapes to address environmental degradation, while in countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan, we are supporting climate-smart agriculture. We are also boosting climate and disaster resilience, including for Turkish cities. In the Kyrgyz Republic, we are ensuring that climate considerations are reflected in infrastructure projects, such as climate-resilient water services. We are also providing development policy financing to countries such as Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, and Uzbekistan to enable critical policy and institutional reforms toward a green transition.

Boosting human capital

We continue to address the urgent risks to human capital—including regional challenges related to education, an aging population, and health—that have been exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19. Our support includes emergency financing for health systems, vaccination, and social protection in Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine. We are also helping countries build adaptive and inclusive human capital through better access to quality health services, education, social protection, and jobs.

In Georgia, a $400 million Program-for-Results is helping improve these aspects of human capital by supporting more efficient service delivery and promoting inclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. It will improve social protection coverage for poor households with children, connect unemployed people to job opportunities, strengthen primary health and hospital care, enhance facilities and teaching quality in schools, and promote digital tools for education. We are also supporting inclusive and sustainable education in Armenia and Croatia, better health systems in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and labor market and social assistance reforms in Kosovo and Türkiye.

Enabling markets

Enhancing competition is key to support dynamism, innovation, and investment. We help countries continue their transitions to a market economy and boost private sector investment. In Kazakhstan, we provided $400 million to support institutional and policy changes for a more competitive economy driven by a vibrant private sector and an accountable public sector. We provided $56 million to Kosovo to spur economic growth and ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery from COVID-19, with a focus on regulatory measures to promote private sector development and accelerate digitalization.

In Uzbekistan, we are helping accelerate reforms to shift from a state-led model to greater market orientation, particularly in agriculture. We are also promoting enterprise development in the country’s rural areas through business incubation, advisory services, market access, green technologies, and financing for women’s entrepreneurship. In Tajikistan, we are improving the environment for commercial banks to lend to small and medium enterprises. And in Moldova, we are helping reduce businesses’ regulatory burdens and increase their access to finance as ways to strengthen export competitiveness.

Building and strengthening institutions 

We continue to help countries build more efficient, transparent, and inclusive institutions. This includes promoting sound macrofinancial policies and regulatory frameworks as well as reforming state-owned enterprises. In Ukraine, we approved $350 million in budget support in December 2021 to open up land markets by strengthening governance and management, support trade reforms to improve connectivity to the EU, and bolster the social safety net for pensioners who are vulnerable to health and income shocks, such as COVID-19.

In Armenia, we are helping modernize public services and facilitate economic transformation by strengthening digital service delivery. In Uzbekistan, we are strengthening the capacity of the national statistical system to close data gaps in essential development priorities, such as gender equality, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. In Albania and Tajikistan, we are helping improve the performance and management of water and sanitation utilities as well as increase access to their services. And in the Kyrgyz Republic, we are helping strengthen the electricity sector’s financial performance and reliability.

Further Information: Europe and Central Asia Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2020–22

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY20	FY21	FY22
IBRD	5,699	4,559	5,974	3,100	3,625	4,580
IDA	1,497	1,315	2,511	365	880	764
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2022: $35.9 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Mobilizing rapid support for Ukraine amid the war 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a humanitarian catastrophe, threatening geopolitical stability and an already uneven global economic recovery. The war is exacting a severe toll on Ukraine, reflected in fiscal and financial pressures, disruptions to trade, the displacement of millions, and heavy damage to infrastructure. The country faces a contraction in GDP of 45 percent in 2022 and a weak recovery thereafter. Depending on how long the war lasts, the percentage of people living on $5.50 a day or falling below this poverty line is projected to increase to 19.8 percent in 2022, up from 1.8 percent in 2021, with another 59 percent at risk of falling into poverty. The damage to productive and export capacity and to human capital will also have lasting economic and social repercussions. By 2025, even though reconstruction efforts could push growth above 7 percent, GDP is expected to be a third less than in 2021.

The Bank is responding rapidly to address the war’s impacts and support the most urgent priorities, including macroeconomic stability, essential public services, and humanitarian relief. Ahead of a ministerial roundtable on support to Ukraine at the 2022 Spring Meetings, we prepared the Relief, Recovery and Resilient Reconstruction approach paper, which recommended immediate action areas to help regain incomes and reduce poverty, as well as priorities to support resilient, inclusive recovery and reconstruction.

Unlike many countries in conflict situations, and despite limited resources, Ukraine is continuing to provide basic services, repair damaged infrastructure, and perform emergency rescue operations through its central and regional governments. After the war started, we quickly mobilized a package of Bank and partner budget support financing to help ensure the delivery of critical public services and social expenditures, including wages for hospital workers and pensions for the elderly and vulnerable. This included about $490 million in IBRD financing, supported by around $140 million in bilateral donor guarantees to IBRD. In addition, we mobilized grant financing from bilateral partners via a multidonor trust fund, as well as parallel financing. We also approved $91 million in additional financing to maintain support for emergency needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccinations. And in June, we approved another $1.5 billion in Bank financing—including $1.0 billion in exceptional support from IDA, with the balance supported by donor guarantees—to help the government maintain operations and finance wages amid enormous fiscal and financial pressures.

We are also adjusting and restructuring existing projects in Ukraine. This includes $100 million in reallocated financing to cover scholarships for over 220,000 students from lower-income families, helping preserve the country’s human capital. We also committed $35 million under an existing health project to procure and deliver emergency medical equipment and supplies for hospitals that are serving people in war-affected areas. And we reallocated $99 million through a Contingent Emergency Response Component of an existing project to address the urgent needs of people who are internally displaced.   

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	369	378	402
Population growth (annual %)	0	0.6	0.2
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	1,796	7,415	8,351
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	8.4	5	6.6
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	34	11	5
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	73	75	77
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	62	66	69
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	2,583	2,846	2,943
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	7.4	2.4	1.1
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services, and primary income	19	22	27
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	73	73	70
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	23	19	18
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	36	18	11
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	94	98	100
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	2	38	80
Access to electricity (% of population)	100	100	100
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	5	5	6
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	88	91	95
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	93	95	96
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity.  a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2021; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

Latin America and the Caribbean’s economy rebounded 6.7 percent in 2021 after a sharp drop the previous year, almost completely recovering to pre-pandemic GDP levels. However, the social costs of the crisis were devastating, and scars remain. Sluggish growth prospects of 2.5 percent in 2022 and 1.9 percent in 2023 raise fears of a new low-growth cycle and meager social gains.

Poverty has risen to its highest point in decades. Excluding Brazil, which implemented generous mitigation measures, poverty rates (those living on less than $5.50 a day) remain almost 2 percentage points above their pre-pandemic levels, at 27.5 percent. The effects of the crisis will also be felt over the long term. School-age children lost up to one and a half years of education, which is expected to cause a 12 percent loss in lifetime earnings. Employment has only partially recovered, and economic growth continues to face serious challenges.

World Bank assistance

The Bank approved $10.4 billion in lending to the region for 55 operations in fiscal 2022, including $9.4 billion in IBRD commitments and $1.0 billion in IDA commitments. We signed one Reimbursable Advisory Services agreement with Chile for a total of $200,000.

The Bank supports countries in the region by protecting and investing in human capital, building resilience to better manage and withstand shocks, promoting green and inclusive growth, attracting private investment, strengthening institutions, and engaging with traditionally excluded groups, including Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and rural communities. We also help countries implement structural reforms and promote inclusion, gender equality, and green growth. In fiscal 2022, we focused on reversing the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and promoting more equitable and sustainable growth across the region. This includes supporting health, social protection, and education, as well as aiding businesses, fostering job creation, and supporting the purchase and deployment of vaccines.

Promoting inclusive growth

We are supporting inclusive growth by helping countries improve productivity and job creation, strengthen social protection systems, promote digital transformation, and create opportunities for all. In Bolivia, a $254 million project has supported the COVID-19 response since the pandemic began. This includes expanding social protection by providing emergency cash transfers to more than 3.5 million people, over 1.5 million of them women. In the Caribbean, we are helping expand 3G networks to reach over 95 percent of people in Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as connect nearly 70,000 people in these countries to high-quality digital networks. This will provide access to key services and improve links to markets.

Investing in human capital

We work with countries to foster access to health services and quality education for all. In Colombia, we supported the government’s efforts to integrate Venezuelan migrants, which included ensuring access to education for thousands of migrant children. We are also supporting two programs totaling over $1.4 billion to address the country’s migration challenges, promote fiscal sustainability, and improve market competitiveness for more inclusive growth. In the Dominican Republic, we provided $100 million to support the COVID-19 response, including health measures to ramp up supply provision and service delivery, financing for tests, and equipment for hospitals, including more than 4,200 isolation beds.

Fostering a green and sustainable recovery

Latin America and the Caribbean is highly vulnerable to weather-related disasters and the growing challenges of climate change, affecting the poor and disadvantaged most. We work with countries to support green, sustainable growth and build more resilient infrastructure. In Brazil, a $300 million project is improving the road network and providing all-season access for 400,000 people in the state of Tocantins. It is also supporting small business development in agriculture and tourism, improving educational services, and enhancing environmental management. In Argentina, we are promoting the sustainable use of nature in almost 200,000 hectares of native forest, reducing pressure on ecosystems by generating economic alternatives for rural communities. These efforts have helped improve the livelihoods of about 1,000 rural farmers and Indigenous people living in or around these protected areas through honey production, sustainable livestock, and nature-based tourism.

Caribbean countries such as Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are especially vulnerable to climate-related events. Promoting awareness about sustainable ocean resources is key to transitioning to a vibrant blue economy, where the region’s natural assets may offer economic opportunities to address poverty and unemployment. In fiscal 2022, IDA and PROBLUE (a multidonor trust fund administered by the Bank) provided financing to support a Blue Economy Strategic Action Plan for the region, along with marine pollution and fisheries management legislation and data on ocean resources.

Supporting countries' development goals

In addition to financing, we provide countries with advisory services, technical assistance, and analyses to support their development goals. Our regional report, Strengthening Public Health Surveillance through Wastewater Testing, looks at how countries can improve the detection, diagnosis, control, and monitoring systems for viruses that cause diseases like COVID-19. Our Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean report discusses the physical and legal barriers that people with disabilities face and how to promote their inclusion. In The Fast Track to New Skills report, we emphasize the positive impact that technical degrees, tertiary careers, and advanced vocational training programs can have in times of crisis, such as the pandemic, when millions of people across the region need to acquire skills for a rapidly changing world of work.

We also advise countries on ways to promote inclusion and gender equality. In Mexico, we proposed policy actions to enhance female labor force participation and reduce teen pregnancy, especially among the most vulnerable. And in Chile, we helped launch an integrated case management platform to strengthen the governance of institutions that help survivors of gender-based violence, enabling timely responses and case monitoring to prevent delays and recurring violence.

Further Information: Latin America and the Caribbean Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2020–22

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY20	FY21	FY22
IBRD	6,798	9,464	9,407	5,799	8,741	8,911
IDA	978	769	1,030	466	495	510
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2022: $33.8 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Building resilience to disasters  

Latin America and the Caribbean is suffering from increasingly serious effects of climate change, which has already inflicted significant economic and social costs on countries. Hurricanes, floods, and droughts are becoming more frequent, with many people and communities exposed to tsunamis, epidemics, landslides, and wildfires.

On average, countries in the region have lost 1.7 percent of annual GDP due to climate-related disasters over the past two decades. Nearly 6 million people could fall into extreme poverty by 2030, mostly due to a lack of safe water and sanitation, as well as greater exposure to excessive heat and floods.

If no actions are taken, agriculture will be hard hit, with crop yields decreasing in virtually all countries, and energy generation will be undermined by changes in the hydrological cycle. Helping the region adapt is key to achieving countries’ sustainable development goals. In Uruguay, we are promoting smart agriculture and natural resources management. These efforts have helped more than 5,000 farmers, and sustainable landscape management practices are being applied to over 2.7 million hectares of land. This helps prevent soil degradation and water pollution while mitigating the impact of climate-related events.

Like many countries in the region, Panama is highly exposed to more frequent and intense catastrophic events, which affect its economy and its capacity to finance disaster preparedness and response. This affects mostly the poor, given their limited capacity to cope with the loss of housing, livelihoods, and access to basic services. To address this, we are helping Panama build its fiscal and financial resilience against natural hazards and the effects of climate change.

In Ecuador, a $200 million project is helping improve the equity, integration, and sustainability of social safety net programs to boost resilience to macroeconomic shocks and strengthen the country´s risk management capacity. During the pandemic, the project has reached close to 2.5 million people, about half of them women. And in the Dominican Republic, we provided $150 million to enhance resilience to disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tropical storms. This project helped strengthen institutions for better resilience and promoted mandatory risk reduction regulation for public investments and construction work.    

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	469	531	596
Population growth (annual %)	1.5	1.1	0.9
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	4,021	7,619	7,537
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	2.1	5.5	5.5
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	66	35	24
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	75	77	79
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	68	71	73
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	1,038	1,296	1,382
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	12.8	6.1	4.1
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services, and primary income	43	14	30
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	60	66	68
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	36	33	34
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	35	25	16
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	99	100	99
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	3	34	73
Access to electricity (% of population)	91	96	98
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	30	30	29
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	73	81	88
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	90	94	97
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity.  a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2021; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

 

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa face an uncertain and uneven recovery amid the impacts of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and other challenges. Regional GDP is expected to grow by an average of 5.2 percent in 2022, owing primarily to an increase in global oil prices, which benefits the region’s oil-exporting countries. Many high-income countries in the region have also administered successful COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. However, a wide range of challenges persist, including a slow pace of vaccination among lower-income and conflict-affected countries as well as severe climate vulnerabilities. The war in Ukraine is exacerbating food security challenges and causing widespread commodity market disruptions, as the region is highly dependent on food imports. Jordan and Lebanon rely on global markets for as much as 90 percent of their wheat consumption; by volume, Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat.

World Bank assistance

The World Bank approved $4.9 billion in lending to the region for 29 operations in fiscal 2022, including $4.1 billion in IBRD commitments and $817 million in IDA commitments. Another $80 million in special financing was provided for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. We also delivered 96 advisory services and analytics products. Revenue from Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements reached $28 million, for ongoing strategic and technical assistance on social and economic reforms in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Across the region, the Bank Group seeks to strengthen countries’ resilience by providing immediate crisis response while supporting structural reforms for inclusive and sustainable development. We seek to help restore trust between citizens and their states by strengthening governance, service delivery, and transparency; boost job creation for youth and women by promoting competitive markets and private sector–led growth; improve human capital outcomes by modernizing education, health, and social protection systems; address fragility by supporting reconstruction and targeting the root causes of conflict; and facilitate green growth by combating climate change and environmental degradation while preparing for energy transitions.

Expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines

The Bank continues to help countries address the health impacts of COVID-19 and to support vaccination across the region; this includes over $300 million in financing for vaccines since January 2021. In Iraq, a $100 million operation is helping supply and deploy vaccines, including the acquisition of nearly 6 million doses, equipment for waste management in health care, an electronic registration system, logistics and supply chain management, and communication campaigns to address hesitancy. In Lebanon, we provided personal protective equipment, ventilators, and beds for public hospitals across the country; we also supported equitable access to vaccines for more than 2 million people, including Syrian refugees.

Strengthening social protection

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the Bank has provided $2.9 billion in financing and technical assistance to help countries in the Middle East and North Africa provide cash transfers and cash-for-work and strengthen social protection systems. In Tunisia, we are providing emergency cash transfers to mitigate the impact of the crisis on poor and vulnerable households and helping expand the country’s main social assistance program. This support will help implement a new process to identify and target beneficiaries, improve efficiency, and expand coverage for the poorest 10 percent of the population. We are also working to make the program more adaptive and responsive to future shocks.

In the West Bank and Gaza, we are providing financing for cash transfers that will reach about 78,000 poor households that have lost income or been impacted by the deteriorating socioeconomic conditions during the pandemic. We are also helping implement cash-for-work projects in partnership with nongovernmental organizations, which are providing temporary employment to over 3,000 people, about half of them women.

Improving critical infrastructure and regional integration

We are helping countries in the region strengthen critical sectors, including electricity, water, agriculture, and transport. We are also supporting greater regional integration, including the Pan-Arab Regional Market Technical Assistance program, a high-level initiative supported by the World Bank and regional development partners to boost integration between the region’s power systems and the cross-border electricity trade as well as key transport and energy infrastructure in the Horn of Africa.

In the West Bank and Gaza, we are helping diversify energy sources and improve the operational and financial performance of electricity providers. Through a $200 million multiphase programmatic approach, we are improving electricity infrastructure by upgrading existing lines and building capacity to absorb more solar energy, especially for areas facing shortages. We are also providing smart meters for distribution companies and expanding the supply of solar energy to public hospitals. And in Gaza, we are helping replace overhead lines with underground cables and redesigning low-voltage networks to reduce outages and increase resilience in the face of climate risks and potential future conflicts.

Boosting climate resilience

The Bank remains focused on helping countries strengthen resilience to climate shocks. We are preparing the first series of Country Climate and Development Reports for the region, including for Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Morocco. These reports will serve as a platform for policy dialogue on opportunities and pathways to increase resilience amid growing climate risks. We also launched the Middle East and North Africa Climate Roadmap in fiscal 2022. Aligned with the Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan, this sets out an ambitious agenda for regional transformation in food and water security, energy transitions and low-carbon mobility, climate-smart cities, and sustainable finance. The approach builds on our existing operations, such as the Morocco Green Generation Program-for-Results, which is helping strengthen agri-food value chains and supporting youth employment in rural areas, and the Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, which is helping reduce emissions and improve air quality in Egypt’s capital region.

Our Blue Skies, Blue Seas report, launched in February 2022, examines the impact of pollution on skies and seas, which is estimated to cost more than 3 percent of GDP per year in some countries. The report offers policy recommendations to safeguard the region’s blue natural assets—including clean air, healthy seas, and coastlines—while supporting green growth that will create jobs, diversify economies, and make the region a better place to live.

Further Information: Middle East and North Africa Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2020–22

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY20	FY21	FY22
IBRD	3,419	3,976	4,135	2,415	2,764	3,407
IDA	203	658	817	151	379	559
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2022: $23.5 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Supporting food security in Yemen  

Yemen is facing acute food insecurity and malnutrition driven by escalating conflict, rising food prices, supply chain disruptions, fuel shortages, unstable market trends, currency devaluation, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These developments present complex challenges on the ground and make it difficult to reach the most vulnerable people, especially in areas near the front lines. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, 17.4 million people in Yemen needed urgent assistance as of March 2022—this number could rise to 19 million by the end of 2022.

We are helping Yemen weather this crisis through a $127 million project financed by early response financing under the IDA Crisis Response Window and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. We are implementing the project in partnership with UN agencies—the FAO, WFP, and UNDP—as well as Yemeni partner institutions, including the Social Fund for Development and the Public Works Project. This enables us to extend the reach of this support throughout the country.

The project is helping improve access to nutritious diets for more than half a million vulnerable people in the country’s most food-insecure areas. It is helping improve food production for households while providing short-term income opportunities for local workers. The effort will also increase the production and sale of crops, livestock, and fish; improve nutrition for vulnerable rural households; and build capacity to manage food security and improve climate resilience. The focus includes agricultural production support to more than 19,000 women, cash-for-work opportunities for nearly 7,000 women, and nutrition assistance for over half a million women and children.    

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	279	333	403
Population growth (annual %)	1.8	1.8	1.7
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	1,775	4,519	3,461
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	4.2	3.4	2.4
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	10	7	27
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	71	74	76
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	68	70	72
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	822	1,245	1,489
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	3.4	2.1	7.5
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services, and primary income	15	8	20
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	25	26	24
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	36	33	31
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	46	29	23
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	81	89	93
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	1	21	74
Access to electricity (% of population)	92	95	97
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	3	3	3
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	80	85	90
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	86	90	94
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity.  a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2021; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

South Asia’s GDP is expected to grow 6.8 percent in 2022 and 5.8 percent in 2023. But the impacts of the war in Ukraine have weakened this recovery—which was already uneven and fragile—contributing to inflation, deterioration of current account balances, and rising debt. Poverty rates are expected to recover in line with economic growth—the number of poor people living on $3.20 a day or less across the region is forecast to range between 615 million and 704 million in 2022, which is lower than in 2019, before the pandemic.

South Asia is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. More than half of the region’s population—750 million people—were affected by at least one climate-related disaster over the past two decades. Inequality exacerbates these impacts, as poor, vulnerable, and marginalized people bear the highest burden of these shocks and have the fewest means to recover.

World Bank assistance

The World Bank approved $9.0 billion in lending to the region for 44 operations in fiscal 2022, including $4.8 billion in IBRD commitments and $4.2 billion in IDA commitments. We also approved 33 advisory services and analytical products for eight countries, totaling $6 million. These provided technical advice on issues such as pandemic preparedness and vaccination, debt management, job creation, female labor force participation, air pollution, disaster risk management, and climate resilience.

In South Asia, we are focused on accelerating investments in human capital to drive inclusive development; promoting green growth; and strengthening resilience across the economy, markets, and society.

Responding to crises

We continue to support the people of Afghanistan following the August 2021 political crisis through the multidonor Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. This finances projects that support community livelihoods, food security, and primary health care, with a focus on women and girls. These projects are implemented by UN agencies and international nongovernmental organizations. We also moved quickly to support the people of Sri Lanka through the worst economic crisis in decades by reallocating financing from existing projects to meet emergency needs in health, social protection, agriculture, and energy.

Accelerating investments in human capital

Despite major progress, South Asia faces large and persistent human capital deficits. These have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, which has slowed progress or wiped out gains entirely. On average, children born in the region today can expect to attain only 48 percent of their full potential. To address these gaps, we are helping strengthen health systems, expand access to primary care, and build stronger social protection systems that are targeted and responsive in the wake of shocks. We also support education policies that ensure learning for all, build skills for future needs, and improve access to labor markets.

In India, a $125 million project is helping the state of West Bengal develop a consolidated social registry that will expand coverage and access to social assistance for poor and vulnerable groups. In Pakistan, we are supporting a series of operations at the federal and provincial levels to improve primary health and education outcomes, boost livelihoods, deepen targeted social safety nets, and strengthen crisis preparedness.

Despite decades of economic growth, rising education, and declining fertility (though still high compared with the rest of the region), Pakistani women still face significant barriers to opportunity. Our program in Pakistan supports policy reforms to improve women’s economic participation by extending access to fair wages and social security for informal home-based workers, most of them women; improving access to child care, separate toilets, and transportation for women workers in the formal sector; achieving equal pay; and ending sex-based discrimination. Our analytical work explores how countries in the region can help tackle barriers to women’s labor force participation and boost the quality of jobs in both the formal and informal sectors.

Building resilience across the economy

We help countries unlock new sources of opportunity, growth, and jobs by supporting private sector–led solutions, better debt and investment transparency, access to markets and credit for SMEs, and digital transformation. Our research examines ways that countries can move away from manufacturing-led growth toward a services-led development model that strengthens long-term resilience.

In Bangladesh, we are helping build a stronger fiscal and financial sector, modernize taxes, and foster a globally competitive export industry. We are also supporting cash transfer platforms that can respond faster to extreme climate events, such as floods and cyclones. In Nepal, a $150 million operation is helping increase financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions, expand access to financial services, and open up capital, insurance, and disaster-risk financing markets. It also supports policy measures that introduce principles and incentives for green lending.

Promoting green growth

About 80 percent of South Asia’s major cities are exposed to floods, and rising sea levels pose storm surge risks for low-lying, densely populated coastal areas. Water and food systems are particularly stressed—more variable rainfall and higher temperatures are causing water scarcity, reducing crop productivity, and affecting food prices, nutrition, and farmers’ livelihoods. The changing climate could sharply diminish living conditions for up to 800 million people across the region.

In fiscal 2022, we launched our South Asia Climate Roadmap to help countries address climate risks, deliver more and better jobs, and reduce poverty by leveraging opportunities for climate action. This includes shifting to more efficient and livable cities, investing in clean energy systems, and promoting climate-smart agriculture. In Bangladesh, a $120 million project is helping protect crops and fisheries through better flood management as well as climate-smart irrigation and drainage; these efforts are promoting food security, boosting livelihoods, and improving productivity. In Sri Lanka, a $92 million project is modernizing forecasting for weather, floods, and landslides; improving early warning systems; and investing in flood-resilient infrastructure, benefiting more than 11 million people. And in Bhutan, we are strengthening resilience to climate change and natural disasters through an innovative risk assessment that will inform investments in agriculture and road construction.

Promoting regional integration and cooperation

We promote regional cooperation to improve economic connectivity, climate resilience, and human development. Our Regional Investment Pioneers in South Asia report analyzes barriers to intraregional investments and recommends policy actions, and our report on South Asia’s Digital Opportunity explores how digital transformation offers pathways to a more robust regional economy.

In Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, we are supporting the rehabilitation of 3,500 km of inland waterways and interlinking them with roads and railways. We also launched a multiphase program to accelerate transport and trade connectivity in the eastern part of the region, with an initial investment of over $1.1 billion in Bangladesh and Nepal. Our Climate Innovation Challenge and the TechEmerge Resilience India Program support pilot solutions to address climate needs and boost disaster resilience. We also engage through regional forums for collective action, including WePower, a network of women professionals in the energy and power sectors, and the South Asia HydroMet Forum, a platform to improve weather information and climate services.

Further Information: South Asia Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2020–22

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY20	FY21	FY22
IBRD	5,565	3,746	4,781	3,158	3,665	3,129
IDA	6,092	7,127	4,217	5,235	5,744	4,202
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2022: $57.4 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Helping Bangladesh protect against rising seas and a changing climate   

Once a country with catastrophic death tolls from cyclones, Bangladesh has become a world leader in coastal resilience, achieving impressive economic growth while boosting preparedness against storms that pummel its coast with growing frequency. Situated at the head of the Bay of Bengal—a magnet for cyclones and a storm surge amplifier—this river-delta nation of 165 million people now has a network of shelters, an early warning system that can quickly evacuate millions of people, and embankments that protect over 6,000 km of vulnerable coastline.

To assist these efforts, the Bank helped build and rehabilitate over 1,000 shelters to protect more than 1.2 million people during cyclones, as well as 550 km of paved roads that improve access for surrounding villages. The shelters serve as primary schools in regular weather and can withstand winds of over 260 km an hour. Behind brightly painted classroom murals are walls made of reinforced concrete; floors below are designed to hold more than a thousand people, with space also for livestock. In addition, solar panels and rainwater receptacles ensure a supply of electricity and water. Outside of the cyclone season, these facilities are a vibrant community focal point, serving as meeting places, polling stations, and medical offices. They include accessibility ramps for people with disabilities.

We also supported Bangladesh’s Cyclone Preparedness Program, an early warning system with more than 76,000 volunteers who are trained in disaster preparation, half of them women. In thousands of remote communities along the coastline and inland, the volunteers can access up-to-date forecasting and help usher households to the shelters, as when Cyclone Yaas made landfall in May 2021. Bangladesh has also strengthened its system of 139 coastal polders, or dikes, which provide a first line of defense. Since 2013, the Bank has helped rehabilitate over 700 km of embankments, along with drainage networks and protective infrastructure, to safeguard against storm and tidal surges, saline intrusion, and coastal erosion.

As chair of the 48-member Climate Vulnerable Forum for 2020–22, Bangladesh is helping map out a sustainable and resilient pathway for countries that are vulnerable to climate change. Under the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, the government committed in 2018 to investing 2.5 percent of the country’s GDP annually, about $6 billion, to shore up resilience and promote social and economic development. In November 2021, Bangladesh also launched the world’s first-ever Climate Prosperity Plan to enhance resilience, grow the economy, create jobs, and boost renewable energy. The country’s success in building resilience is saving countless lives, and it offers a roadmap for long-term investments in adaptation, community mobilization, and disaster preparedness.    

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	1,391	1,639	1,878
Population growth (annual %)	1.9	1.4	1.1
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	445	1,147	2,104
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	2.2	5.9	7.1
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	577b	425	262
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	64	68	71
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	62	66	69
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	1,073	1,877	2,784
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	39.6b	25.9	15.2
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services, and primary income	17	7	16
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	37	34	31
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	80	78	69
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	93	62	39
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	69	87	92
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	0	7	39
Access to electricity (% of population)	56	73	96
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	49	39	36
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	18	43	69
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	82	86	91
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity.  a. The most current data available between 2014 and 2021; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates. b. 2002 data. For poverty estimates, see the regional groups on https://pip.worldbank.org.