Putting People at the Heart of Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Recovery

When people have access to quality education and training, health services and social protection and when women and girls benefit from better opportunities, they are better equipped to escape poverty and lead productive lives.

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Commodity Markets Outlook

Soaring Energy Prices Pose Inflation Risks

The World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook forecasts that energy prices—expected to average more than 80 percent higher in 2021 compared to last year—will remain at high levels in 2022 but will start to decline in the second half of the year.

ANNUAL MEETINGS 2021

RECAP: 2021 World Bank Group/IMF Annual Meetings

Can we build a stronger recovery after COVID-19 and how do we best prepare for future shocks? US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, The Prince of Wales, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and a host of other global leaders shared their ideas at our Annual Meetings.

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A just transition

Helping Countries Move Toward Clean Energy Systems

Helping countries transition to clean energy systems while meeting growing energy demand is one of the greatest development challenges of our time. Energy used to power people's lives and boost economic activity, however, is also the greatest driver of climate change and the author highlights that transitioning away from coal is one of the most vital steps we can take to fight climate change.

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to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable way

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Data

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Forecast revisions to global growth in 2021, by vaccination progress

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Global growth in 2021 is projected to be more robust than previously envisioned. Rapid vaccination progress has contributed to forecast upgrades in many countries; however, this is concentrated primarily in advanced economies. For many EMDEs, renewed COVID-19 surges and limited vaccination have contributed to downward revisions to growth. Read More.

The global COVID-19 vaccination campaign will be the largest in history. The delivery of COVID-19 vaccines presents challenges unprecedented in scale, speed and specificities, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In November 2020, anticipating the availability of safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19, the World Bank together with WHO, UNICEF, the Global Fund, and Gavi rolled out readiness assessments in more than 100 low and middle-income countries. Read More

Data flows not only support trade in goods, making production and distribution more effective and less costly, but such flows are in fact the vehicle for trading digital services across borders. As trade in global digital services has increased dramatically in recent years, so have global data flows. The World Development Report 2021, Data for Better Lives finds that a combination of well-defined domestic personal data protection measures with relative ease of cross-border movements appears to offer the most favorable environment for international trade in data-enabled services.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 27 economies in all regions and income groups enacted reforms to remove obstacles to women’s economic inclusion across all areas and increased good practices in legislation in 45 cases, according to the Women, Business and the Law 2021. The greatest number of reforms introduced or amended laws affecting pay and parenthood. Read more.

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Neelaab, a 9-year-old second-grader in Afghanistan, a beneficiary of the Education Quality Improvement Program. Photo: © Abbas Farzami/ World Bank

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International Development Association (IDA)

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Essential Reading

World Bank Annual Report 2021

Groundswell Part 2: Acting on Internal Climate Migration

Global Economic Prospects 2021

Women, Business and the Law 2021

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We help developing countries find solutions to the toughest global and local development challenges—from adapting to climate change to boosting food security to increasing access to energy.