REGIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged Sub-Saharan Africa into its first recession in over 25 years and exacerbated public debt vulnerabilities, pushing up to 40 million people into extreme poverty and erasing years of progress in reducing poverty. Yet the region’s economic activity is estimated to have contracted by only 2.4 percent in 2020 due to the virus spreading more slowly than expected, strong agricultural growth, and rapid recovery in commodity prices. African countries are also increasingly adopting digital technologies to boost productivity and increase employment opportunities, particularly for women and youth. Growth is expected to rebound to 2.8 percent in 2021 and 3.3 percent in 2022, though this will depend on more rapid deployment of vaccines, credible policies to stimulate private investment, and greater integration into regional and global value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The Bank Group is supporting regional integration across Sub-Saharan Africa and scaling up financing at the country level to help countries respond to the impacts of the pandemic and stimulate a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery. Support for regional integration complements national programs to build connectivity in energy, transport, and digital development; promote trade and regional value chains and integrate financial markets; support human capital development by enhancing pandemic and disease surveillance, boosting skills, and empowering women; and reinforce resilience to address challenges related to climate change, food security, and transboundary waters. We also work with partners to support cross-border approaches in fragile areas, such as the Sahel, the Lake Chad and Great Lakes regions, and the Horn of Africa.

World Bank assistance

In fiscal 2021, the Bank approved $11.5 billion in lending to Western and Central Africa for 98 operations, including $500 million in IBRD commitments and $11.0 billion in IDA commitments. Revenue from Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements with one country was $0.7 million.

To help countries in the region tackle the COVID-19 crisis, we are investing in health and expanding safety nets for their most vulnerable people. We are also supporting recovery by helping strengthen the social contract between citizens and governments, bolster job creation and economic transformation, improve human capital, empower women, and boost climate resilience.

Saving lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic

In fiscal 2021, we provided $903 million in financing for 17 countries in Western and Central Africa to support their emergency health response, with a focus on strengthening prevention, expanding testing, providing medical equipment, and enhancing health systems and coordination. With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout underway in many countries, we continue to strengthen health systems and prioritize the production and safe and effective distribution of vaccines. In fiscal 2021, we approved 15 projects totaling $622 million in emergency financing for vaccines, including for Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, with another four under preparation. Drawing on lessons from the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, we committed more than $200 million to the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement Program to support 16 countries in their COVID-19 response and train medical students through the Advanced Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program.

Protecting the poorest and most vulnerable people

Robust and adaptive social protection programs are key to protecting poor and vulnerable people and ensuring a resilient recovery. We are providing $1.8 billion under IDA to scale up social safety nets across Western and Central Africa and to strengthen social protection measures, recipient registries, cash transfer programs, and delivery mechanisms; these efforts will benefit about 40 million people. In Togo, we are supporting the delivery of emergency cash transfers to some of the poorest families affected by COVID-19, using satellite images and mobile money; these efforts are also helping modernize the financial sector. In Nigeria, the national social protection system is providing digital payments to 20 million people living in extreme poverty, 90 percent of whom are female. In the Gambia, the National Nutrition Agency is supporting more than 78,000 families in the country’s poorest districts through cash transfers, while in Cameroon, an adaptive social protection program has distributed digital payments to 80,000 vulnerable households. In Nigeria and across the Sahel, we are helping empower women and girls by expanding their access to health care and education and helping reduce child marriage.

Supporting job creation and economic recovery

Boosting the private sector is critical to containing the economic crisis and supporting recovery; small and medium enterprises have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. We are scaling up public works and urban programs to create jobs in low-income communities. In the Central African Republic, the country’s largest cash-for-work program has produced more than 16 million masks while generating livelihood opportunities for nearly 18,000 people and over 300 local firms. In Liberia, the Youth Opportunities Project has provided more than 10,000 youth, half of whom are women, with skills and business training and agricultural tools and supplies. In Mali, we are working with IFC to help boost value chains in the country’s shea, mango, and livestock industries while removing infrastructure bottlenecks and enhancing energy access. Under the West Africa Power Pool program, we supported the construction of the Ghana–Burkina Faso Interconnector, which has reduced the cost of supplying electricity to Burkina Faso and increased Ghana’s electricity export capacity. And through the Energy Access Initiative, we are helping increase energy access while supporting the clean energy transition, with the goal of providing over 12 million new connections and generating 1.3 gigawatts in renewable energy in fiscal 2021.

Promoting sustainable green growth 

We are providing governments with immediate fiscal relief while continuing to promote transparency and accountability and helping strengthen public procurement and revenue management. In fiscal 2021, we committed $1.5 billion through 12 development policy operations to support countries’ pandemic responses and recovery efforts. In Nigeria, we are helping the government implement fiscal measures to promote transparency and accountability, strengthen links between states and the federal government, and promote citizen engagement. In Cameroon, we are strengthening community accountability mechanisms in fragile contexts by improving service delivery for over 1 million people, many of whom are forcibly displaced. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Bank and IFC are establishing the policy and regulatory framework for environmentally sustainable investments and providing partial credit guarantee schemes to protect small and medium enterprises. And in the Sahel, we are promoting climate-smart agriculture and land restoration efforts to support resilient food systems.

In January 2021, we announced a $5 billion investment over five years to restore degraded landscapes, improve agricultural productivity, and promote livelihoods across 11 countries of the Sahel, Lake Chad, and Horn of Africa regions. These efforts aim to support countries as they recover from the pandemic while also addressing the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Further Information: Western and Central Africa Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2019–21

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY19	FY20	FY21
IBRD	505	9	500	531	155	132
IDA	6,675	9,514	10,955	4,022	5,469	6,045
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2021: $43.1 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Supporting the Sahel’s pastoralists as they face climate change

Livestock farming provides a livelihood for more than 20 million people in the Sahel, who migrate each year in search of water and pastures for their herds. The pandemic has led to border closures that have prevented animals from migrating to their territories of origin and presented risks to their health. The risk of conflict has also increased between farmers ready to plant and herders unable to move. 

The $600 million Regional Sahel Pastoralism Support Program is working to preserve pastoral systems in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. It focuses on improving natural resource management and animal health, mitigating conflicts, facilitating access to markets, and ensuring crisis preparedness and response. Since 2015, more than 2 million people who depend mainly on pastoralism have benefited from this project. The region has also seen better animal health thanks to the construction and rehabilitation of nearly 300 vaccination parks, where more than 200 million animals have been vaccinated, as well as the construction of nearly 70 veterinary units and training for more than 50 veterinarians.

Through this project, we are also helping manage scarce natural resources, thus improving conditions for herders and their families. The efforts have created over 180 water points along the migration routes, sustainable landscape management plans covering more than 5 million hectares of pastoral areas, and more than 1,400 kilometers of corridors for the animals. We helped build and rehabilitate nearly 70 livestock markets and a dozen slaughterhouses, improving pastoralists’ access to markets and boosting commercial activities and incomes. The project has also provided livelihood opportunities for more than 20,000 people, of whom 88 percent are women; developed early warning systems; and provided crisis prevention training for experts, which facilitates peaceful dialogue between communities and herders to mitigate pastoral crises. 

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	267	351	459
Population growth (annual %)	2.7	2.8	2.7
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	453	1,564	1,646
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	0.9	3.8	-3.5
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	156b	165	154
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	50	55	59
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	48	53	57
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	120	166	224
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	56.9b	47.1	34.5
Debt services as a proportion of exports of goods and services	10	2	4
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	82	83	80
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	86	82	79
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	170	122	97
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group) b	54	68	69
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	0	7	15
Access to electricity (% of population)	35	42	51
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	83	81	80
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	23	28	32
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	53	62	68
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity. a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2020; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates. b. 2001 data. For poverty estimates, see the regional groups on http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/data.aspx. c. Data includes all low- and middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

The economies of East Asia and the Pacific began to bounce back after a severe economic shock in 2020, but recovery has been uneven. Only China and Vietnam have followed a V-shape growth path, with output surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2020. In the other major economies, output remained on average about 5 percent below previous levels, with the smallest gap in Indonesia (2.2 percent) and the largest gap in the Philippines (8.4 percent). Economic contraction has been particularly severe and persistent in some of the small island economies, with output in 2020 more than 10 percent below pre-pandemic levels in Fiji, Palau, and Vanuatu.

China and Vietnam are projected to grow by 8.5 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, in 2021, while the rest of the region is projected to grow by only 4.0 percent. Recovery is expected to be especially protracted in tourism-dependent island economies, with growth projected to be negative in about half of these countries, despite their having been largely spared from direct impacts of the pandemic.

Due to economic distress, poverty in the region stopped declining for the first time in 20 years; the crisis will prevent an estimated 29 million people from escaping poverty by the end of 2021. Inequality increased because of the pandemic and the resulting shutdowns, as well as unequal access to social support and digital technologies. In some countries, children of households in the bottom two-fifths of the population are 20 percentage points less likely to be engaged in learning activities than those in the wealthiest fifth. 

World Bank assistance

The World Bank approved $7.9 billion for 38 operations in the region in fiscal 2021, including $6.8 billion in IBRD commitments and $1.1 billion in IDA commitments. The Bank also signed Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements with four countries for a total of $3.2 million.

Our work in the region focuses on three main areas: human capital and inclusion, private sector–led growth, and resilience and sustainability—with the COVID-19 response being an integral part of our work in fiscal 2021. 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 knowledge, lessons, and solutions for shared development priorities.

Addressing the COVID-19 crisis

As part of the Bank’s COVID-19 fast-track facility, we are implementing emergency projects in several countries, including Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. These projects provide emergency financing to purchase medical and laboratory supplies, train medical staff, and strengthen national public health systems. We restructured existing projects in Cambodia, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to fight the pandemic, including by activating Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Options. We are also helping Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines finance the purchase or distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. In Vietnam, we prepared a series of policy notes with strategies and recommendations to help contain the spread of COVID-19, protect vulnerable groups from the pandemic’s impacts, and stimulate a broad-based recovery.

Building human capital and promoting economic inclusion

Investing in human capital is key to ensuring long-term sustainable growth and reducing poverty. In Indonesia, the Bank is supporting the Keluarga Harapan (PKH) conditional cash transfer program, which has helped reduce child stunting rates, school dropouts, and child labor. In 2017, we supported its expansion from 6 million to 10 million families, making it the second-largest such program in the world. The Bank also supported the government’s COVID-19 response through $98 million in additional financing for the Social Assistance Reform Program, providing emergency cash transfers to existing PKH beneficiaries. In the Philippines, the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program covers over 4 million households with children under 18 and encourages parents to invest in their health and education. These efforts have helped increase school attendance and reduce the gender gap in enrollment. The program’s success accounted for a quarter of the country’s poverty reduction over the past seven years.

Promoting private sector–led growth

Expanding private sector opportunities and creating an enabling environment for investment and innovation are crucial to ensuring sustainable growth. In Lao PDR, we are helping small businesses weather the economic slowdown by enhancing their access to finance. 

Across the Pacific, the management and sustainability of fisheries and related habitats are vital to the region’s future. Here our Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program is active in the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu and includes a regional project under the Forum Fisheries Agency. 

In Indonesia, we provided $800 million to support investment and trade policy reforms that will help address vulnerabilities, accelerate recovery, and support economic transformation, especially in light of the pandemic. These efforts will open more sectors to private investment and particularly help attract foreign direct investment, including in solar energy. They will also help prepare highly skilled professionals for the labor market, increase the accessibility and affordability of basic food commodities and raw materials, and expand access to manufacturing inputs.

In the Philippines, we are supporting a program to modernize and improve the efficiency of the country’s customs agency through risk-based compliance management and efforts to automate and digitize the customs processing system. The changes will help reduce trade costs and enable small and medium enterprises to access international markets and participate in global value chains.

Building resilience and sustainability

East Asia and the Pacific remains highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. We support projects across the region to help enhance resilience, reduce pollution and emissions, support climate-smart agriculture, and transition toward clean or renewable energy. To help address the rising sea levels in the Pacific as well as the increased frequency of hurricanes, we are supporting a project in the Federated States of Micronesia that will make road networks—including those connecting ports and airports—climate resilient while preparing them for efficient disaster recovery. It is the sixth in a series of projects covering transport networks under the Pacific Climate Resilient Transport Program, which has pioneered a flexible approach that addresses shared vulnerabilities while tailoring solutions to meet countries’ specific needs. 

In Lao PDR, we are helping strengthen resilience to natural disasters through two projects under the IDA Crisis Response Window. The Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Management Project reduces the impacts of flooding, enhances disaster monitoring, and implements insurance mechanisms and a national risk financing strategy. A roads sector project finances climate resilience in critical sections of the country’s road network. And in the Philippines, we are helping foster resilience and recovery by supporting more than 15,000 community projects in areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 and over 2,600 community projects in response to COVID-19.

Further Information: East Asia and Pacific Region Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2019–21

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY19	FY20	FY21
IBRD	4,030	4,770	6,753	5,048	4,679	4,439
IDA	1,272	2,500	1,115	1,282	1,589	1,297
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2021: $37.5 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Supporting Mongolia’s comprehensive COVID-19 emergency response

In 2020, Mongolia instituted comprehensive measures that prevented COVID-19 outbreaks for most of the year, including quarantine and self-isolation guidelines, suspension of large public gatherings, investments to strengthen its health system, and efforts to raise public awareness. To support the response, in March 2020 the World Bank reallocated funds from an existing health project to provide immediate financing, which allowed the government to purchase diagnostic equipment and strengthen hospital preparedness. We also helped facilitate procurement to ensure the delivery of high-quality equipment amid rising global demand.

The $27 million COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Project is supporting Mongolia’s emergency needs while also helping the country prepare for future health crises. The project provided medical and personal protective equipment to provincial and district hospitals across Mongolia, as well as central hospitals in cities. This helped improve patient care and increase the facilities’ diagnostic, laboratory, and treatment capacity. Hospitals are now able to transport COVID-19 patients safely by isolation chamber, while emergency and intensive care wards are equipped with key technologies. The project supplied hospitals with ventilators and helped designate a special isolation hospital for COVID-19 patients. It supported training for emergency care doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff, as well as infection control measures and public information campaigns.

In February 2021, the Bank approved $51 million in additional financing to support fair and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to the purchase of medicines, this will support effective delivery through national and local roll-out plans that include a cold chain upgrade, logistical support, information campaigns, and staff training. The Bank has provided an additional $1 million grant to complement these measures and help the country supply more than 4 million pieces of personal protective equipment to health care providers and officers at high-risk screening point.

The Bank is also helping the country mitigate the worst impacts of the pandemic and achieve better outcomes in education, social protection, governance, and small and medium enterprises. Support for social insurance has provided direct relief for about 120,000 people enrolled in the country’s voluntary plan—including self-employed workers, microentrepreneurs, and the informally employed—as well as workers and employers in the formal sector. This helped people cover daily expenses during the crisis while also maintaining access to pensions, disability and unemployment benefits, and paid maternity leave. We also mobilized $5 million through an education project to support the government’s Child Money Program, benefiting more than 1 million children. 

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	1,816	1,966	2,105
Population growth (annual %)	1	0.7	0.5
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	910	3,760	8,362
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	6.4	9	0.5
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)	4,131	9,645	11,908
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	34.8	10.8	1
Debt services as a proportion of exports of goods and services	8	2	2
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	82	79	78
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	62	51	45
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	42	23	15
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	92	96	99
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	2	29	51
Access to electricity (% of population)	93	95	98
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	32	16	16
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	56	72	82
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	80	88	92
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity. a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2020; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

 

Europe and Central Asia is forecast to expand 3.9 percent in 2021, predicated on a faster pace of vaccination in the region’s largest economies during the second half of the year. However, the outlook remains challenging, with the pandemic worsening in recent months, as well as tighter macroeconomic policies, greater policy uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions. Growth is expected to stabilize at 3.9 percent in 2022.

The pandemic could erase at least five years of per capita income gains in several countries and increase poverty by as many as 6 million people, largely due to job losses. Other shocks have also presented challenges for the region, including major earthquakes in Albania, Croatia, Greece, Tajikistan, and Turkey, as well as conflicts affecting the south Caucasus and eastern Ukraine. Europe and Central Asia is also home to 10 of the world’s 20 most carbon-intensive economies, while natural resources—air, water, and forests—are being depleted at unsustainable rates. One in eight deaths in Europe can be attributed to pollution; in the Western Balkans, one in four.

World Bank assistance

In fiscal 2021, the World Bank approved $5.9 billion in lending to the region for 51 operations, including $4.6 billion in IBRD commitments and $1.3 billion in IDA commitments. The Bank delivered 254 Advisory and Analytical Services, including regular economic reports for countries, as well as policy notes to support the crisis response in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Surveys in Central Asia and with the private sector in Kosovo provided key insights to underpin policy recommendations. We also helped countries across the region exchange good practices in crisis response.

We are helping the region’s countries prepare for a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery by building on our emergency response to the pandemic and focusing on the medium-term structural reform agenda. Our priorities here cover four broad areas: supporting a green transition, boosting human capital, enabling markets, and building and strengthening institutions.

Supporting a green transition

We are providing countries with knowledge products and financing to support their green transition in five areas: moving toward low-carbon economies, renewing natural capital to address unsustainable resource extraction and environmental degradation, strengthening resilience to natural disasters and climate change, investing in inclusive infrastructure, and facilitating just social transitions toward a green economy.

In Uzbekistan, the Bank worked with IFC and MIGA to help mobilize private financing for solar energy. We are helping implement the 100-megawatt Navoi Scaling Solar Project, the first competitively selected private investment in the country’s renewable energy sector. In Serbia, we are supporting the reform of policy and institutional frameworks for climate change and air pollution through our knowledge activities and lending. We are also supporting Serbia and other countries in their just transition away from coal.

Across the Western Balkans, the $134 million Sava and Drina River Economic Corridor Integrated Development Program is improving flood protection and enhancing transboundary water cooperation, reaching millions of people in five countries. We also began preparing Country Climate and Development Reports for several countries, in alignment with the Bank Group’s new Climate Change Action Plan.

Boosting human capital

The pandemic has adversely affected education and health in the region, with over 400,000 lives lost and school closures estimated to have caused learning losses of up to one full year of schooling. In fiscal 2021, we committed $242 million to address the health impacts of COVID-19 in eight countries, in addition to scaling up social protection for an estimated 16 million people. In Tajikistan, we provided $9 million to increase hospitals’ capacity to treat COVID-19 patients, including protective personal equipment and oxygen supply, and extended one-time emergency cash assistance to 70,000 vulnerable households; we also provided a $13 million grant for procurement and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.

We are also helping countries improve education in response to the impacts of COVID-19. In Ukraine, the Improving Higher Education for Results Project will expand digitization to support learning continuity, strengthen operational resilience, and improve the quality and relevance of higher education to meet labor-market demands. In Romania, a $121 million project will help upgrade schools to meet modern standards and improve digital access, especially for schools that are at high risk of severe earthquake damage or do not meet requirements for fire safety, sanitation, or air quality.

The regional economic update from fall 2020 focused on the pandemic’s impact on human capital and provided new estimates on the quality of higher education in the region, as well as the impact of health risk factors on adults’ productivity.

Enabling markets

We are helping countries reinvigorate private investment to boost growth and jobs as well as strengthen the private sector to compete in a changing global economy. As part of countercyclical measures in response to the pandemic, we are also helping viable small and medium enterprises affected by COVID-19 avert closure and maintain employment levels: efforts include the $500 million Emergency Firm Support Project in Turkey and the $200 million Helping Enterprises Access Liquidity Project in Croatia, which helps firms headed by women and those operating in lagging regions. The $300 million Rapid Support for Micro and Small Enterprises Project in Turkey supports manufacturing and innovative young firms. The Bank is supporting similar efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Ukraine.

Building and strengthening institutions

The pandemic has underscored the importance of good governance and strong institutions; it has prompted governments to rethink tax and revenue policies and ensure quality spending and services. We are promoting greater use of information technology for more efficient public sector management and service delivery to people and businesses. We continue to work on long-standing issues, such as ensuring sound macrofinancial policies and regulatory frameworks; strengthening institutions, governance, and state effectiveness; and modernizing policies and institutions to support infrastructure.

In Tajikistan, we provided $6 million in additional IDA financing to help build up the efficiency, accountability, and transparency of public financial management. We are also providing $500 million to strengthen the transparency and inclusiveness of Uzbekistan’s ambitious economic and social transformation to a private sector–led economy. Efforts here include the $33 million Institutional Capacity Building Project, which is helping Uzbekistan improve fiscal transparency and establish a systematic approach to management and privatization of state-owned enterprises.

The regional economic update from spring 2021 shows that digitalization and better data can improve government efficiency, accountability, and service delivery; address corruption; and strengthen linkages between citizens and governments. These are priorities for governments across the region. 

Further Information: Europe and Central Asia Region Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2019–21

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY19	FY20	FY21
IBRD	3,749	5,699	4,559	2,209	3,100	3,625
IDA	583	1,497	1,315	931	365	880
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2021: $32.2 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Digital transformation to power green, resilient, and inclusive develpment

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred significant shifts in how people work, bank, learn, play, and access public services. Much of this change has been powered by digital technologies, as home-based work, distance learning, telemedicine, and online delivery of government services have become more mainstream. Universal access to secure, high-quality, and affordable internet connectivity enables resilient social and economic development and has become critical infrastructure for urban and rural areas alike. But greater dependence on digital technologies has also exposed new risks and vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity and personal data protection are also greater concerns as tracking apps and facial recognition technologies are more widely deployed.

Throughout Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank is helping countries leverage the power of digital technologies as they work toward a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery. In Georgia, a $40 million project aims to increase access to affordable broadband internet and promote the use of digital services. This will help 500,000 people across 1,000 villages access the internet and e-services, such as health care and education, and connect to more economic opportunities and jobs. In the Kyrgyz Republic, we are helping link farmers with markets by using digital technology to strengthen livelihoods, raise incomes, and build more resilience in agrifood value chains. A smartphone app enables milk processors to record daily deliveries from small farmers and track milk quality. This is helping improve product quality and give small farmers opportunities to generate higher incomes.

In Turkey, the Safe Schooling and Distance Education Project is helping expand access to the online education system from 300,000 students to 1 million and develop a new system that will reach up to 5 million students. It includes support for emergency connectivity and IT infrastructure, digital content, and institutional capacity. The project addresses both the immediate needs arising from the pandemic, particularly due to school closures, as well as long-term education needs by improving blended learning. We are supporting a similar project in Romania, as well as efforts to secure distance education equipment and strengthen curricula in Georgia and North Macedonia.

The pandemic has also shown that digitalized supply chains and logistics are more resilient. In Turkey, the Rail Logistics Improvement Project will deliver last-mile rail connections to key ports and nodes of the national railway network as well as strengthen institutions for digitalization, with the aim of doubling the volume of rail freight. The effort will reduce emissions and make logistics chains more resilient to climate change. Along the corridor between the South Caucasus and Central Asia, we are working with railways and ports to support the planning and deployment of a digital logistics platform between Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	392	398	420
Population growth (annual %)	0	0.5	0.4
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	1,794	7,469	7,900
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	8	4.5	-1.9
Population living below $1.90 a day (millions)	34	11	5
Life expectancy at birth, females (years)	73	75	78
Life expectancy at birth, males (years)	63	66	70
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	2,601	2,877	2,949
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	7.3	2.4	1
Debt services as a proportion of exports of goods and services	11	6	7
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	73	72	71
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	25	20	18
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	36	19	12
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	94	98	99
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	2	36	79
Access to electricity (% of population)	100	100	100
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	6	6	6
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	86	91	94
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 2020; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

In the first year of the pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean was the region hardest hit by COVID-19, with a sharp drop in economic activity and significant impacts on health and human capital coming after several years of sluggish growth and limited progress in social indicators. Regional GDP fell by 6.5 percent in 2020 and is expected to climb 5.2 percent in 2021.

Poverty has risen sharply in many countries, although emergency measures have helped mitigate the regional impact. The share of households living in poverty was down slightly in 2020 at 21.9 percent, but the percentage of vulnerable people increased from 36.9 percent of the population in 2019 to 38.5 percent in 2020. The COVID-19 crisis will have a long-term impact on the region: lower levels of learning and employment are likely to reduce future earnings, while high levels of debt may strain the financial sector and slow recovery.

World Bank assistance

The Bank approved $10.2 billion in lending to the region for 49 operations in fiscal 2021, including $9.5 billion in IBRD commitments and $769 million in IDA commitments. We signed nine Reimbursable Advisory Services agreements with three countries for a total of $2.3 million.

The World Bank supports the region’s countries by protecting and investing in human capital; building resilience to better manage and withstand shocks; promoting inclusive growth; attracting private investment; strengthening institutions; and engaging with traditionally excluded groups, including Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, and rural communities. Over the past year, our work in these areas has focused on the response to the COVID-19 crisis—most notably on health, social protection, education, support to businesses, and job creation, as well as helping countries purchase and deploy vaccines. We will continue to support progress on structural reforms while investing in inclusion, gender equality, productive jobs, and climate resilience.

Promoting inclusive growth

We support inclusive growth in the region by helping increase productivity, foster accountability, promote digital transformation, and create opportunities for all. We helped Panama increase the percentage of extremely poor people benefiting from social assistance from 37 to 81 percent, while also reducing energy subsidies, improving public financial management, and bolstering supervision of the banking industry to strengthen financial integrity and tax transparency. In Ecuador, we supported emergency cash transfers to protect the most vulnerable people from the impacts of the pandemic, reaching more than 820,000 people; we also helped provide more flexible work arrangements, better access to unemployment benefits, and digital banking.

Investing in human capital

Ensuring access to quality health services and education remains a leading priority for the region. In Brazil, we provided nearly 60,000 medical professionals with training in neonatal and obstetric emergency care, helping reduce maternal mortality from 65.1 to 43.3 per 100,000 women and infant mortality from 12.2 to 10.3 per 1,000 births between 2010 and 2019. Our support also helped increase graduation rates in primary schools, strengthen teacher training, and expand the number of teachers working in Indigenous areas from 437 in 2014 to more than 800 in 2019.

In Colombia, a $320 million project is helping disadvantaged youth enroll in higher education by expanding access to student loans. More than 124,000 students have graduated under the program. In Costa Rica, we helped increase enrollment in public universities by 20 percent, reaching 19,000 more students. And in Haiti, we promoted economic inclusion for people with disabilities through communications campaigns, workshops with local firms, and training and tools to pursue employment in various fields.

Supporting a green and sustainable recovery

Climate change and environment degradation pose urgent and growing challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean. In alignment with the Bank Group’s new Climate Change Action Plan, we are helping countries rebuild better while protecting the poorest people, who are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This includes support for more resilient infrastructure that can weather storms and other disasters. In Uruguay, more than 1,800 kilometers of highways were rehabilitated from impacts of tornadoes, heavy rainfall, droughts, and heat waves. In Colombia, we provided $1.4 billion through a series of programs to sustain access to critical infrastructure services amid the COVID-19 crisis, while also laying the policy foundations for recovery through sustainable and resilient infrastructure. In Belize, the Marine Conservation and Climate Adaptation Project is strengthening the climate resilience of critical ecosystems, expanding coverage of marine-protected areas in the country’s territorial waters, restoring 12 coral sites, and boosting livelihoods for more than 1,500 people. In Brazil, we are providing technical assistance to help reform the power, gas, and mining sectors—among the main drivers of the economy—with the aim of enhancing competitiveness and efficiency, leveraging private finance for sustainable energy and mining infrastructure, and strengthening climate change resilience.

Mexico is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, a situation amplified by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help, we are working with the government to strengthen environmental sustainability and resilience as well as expand access to resilient urban infrastructure and social housing. These efforts will help regulate emissions, measure air quality in the largest cities, and conserve forests, as well as improve living conditions for more than 1 million people in urban areas.

Providing advisory services to support development goals

In addition to financing, we provide advisory services, technical assistance, and analyses to support countries’ development goals. Our Acting Now to Protect the Human Capital of Our Children report calls attention to the region’s unprecedented education crisis, with recommendations for policies to contain and reverse the damage. Our Future Foodscapes report looks at policies for the food sector to drive sustainable and inclusive growth. In Going Viral, we urge the region’s policy makers to invest in human capital and rethink labor regulations and social protection policies.

In Women’s Participation in the Labor Market in Mexico, we emphasize that expanding opportunities and inclusion for women is critical for the country's development. Social Inclusion in Uruguay draws attention to the link between chronic poverty and social exclusion of Afro-descendants, people with disabilities, single mothers, and transgender people. In Colombia, we are providing technical assistance to find long-term solutions to integrate migrants from Venezuela. We also prepared a report proposing solutions to address the country’s pervasive challenge of high inequality, as well as an interactive dashboard with data for more than 1,100 municipalities to inform decision making about how to reopen economies safely while mitigating the spread of the pandemic. In Brazil, we are working on comprehensive social protection reform to improve resilience to economic shocks, including the pandemic. We are also working with UNICEF to help expand Guatemala’s safety net program.

In Central America, we are supporting efforts to recover from and rebuild after hurricanes Eta and Iota, which hit Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in November 2020. And in the Caribbean, we provided technical assistance to strengthen risk-informed policy making and financial protection from natural hazards, including in Grenada, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia. We also implemented Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat-DDO) projects in Grenada and in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to reinforce fiscal sustainability and enhance resilience to disaster and climate risks.

Further Information: Latin America and the Caribbean Region Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2019–21

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY19	FY20	FY21
IBRD	5,709	6,798	9,464	4,847	5,799	8,741
IDA	430	978	769	340	466	495
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2021: $32.2 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Protecting human capital in Latin America and the Caribbean amid COVID-19

The pandemic has had catastrophic health, economic, and social impacts throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The region has seen some of the world’s highest fatality rates; high levels of urbanization and informality and an aging population increase the health risks from COVID-19. More than half of the region’s households have reported income losses, and 18 million people have experienced food insecurity. School closures have affected over 170 million students, with an estimated 1.7 years in learning losses.

The Bank Group has moved quickly to help address these challenges, mobilizing $19.7 billion in fiscal 2021. Much of the support focuses on protecting the region’s gains in health, education, and jobs.

In Argentina, we provided $35 million to support early detection, case tracking, and procurement of vital medical supplies and equipment. The project is also strengthening the public health lab network and expanding intensive care services. In Bolivia, we provided $254 million to help fund cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households, including those with school-age children, people with disabilities, elderly members, and informal workers. In Jamaica, a $150 million development policy loan is helping the government provide emergency financial assistance to vulnerable people, supporting businesses as they cope with the economic shock, and strengthening financial institutions for sustainable recovery and climate resilience. And in Brazil, we provided $1 billion to expand the Bolsa Familia program to help over 1 million more families cope with the crisis and protect their incomes.

To understand the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on education, we are assessing the extent of learning losses and socioemotional damage in Bolivia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru. We are helping countries across the region mitigate these impacts by strengthening the quality of teaching, building and rehabilitating schools, developing virtual and other alternative platforms for learning, and promoting more equitable education. In Guyana, we are providing $14 million in additional financing to improve teaching, increase enrollment in secondary schools, and introduce adaptive learning software for higher quality instruction in mathematics. In Nicaragua, $7 million in additional financing will help support students with disabilities; improve water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools; and expand training for teachers and school administrators.

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	472	535	595
Population growth (annual %)	1.5	1.1	1
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	4,017	7,628	7,181
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	2.3	5.5	-7.2
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	72
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	1,046	1,313	1,408
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	12.7	6	3.7
Debt services as a proportion of exports of goods and services	23	7	13
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	60	66	69
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	36	33	34
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	34	25	16
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	98	100	99
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	3	34	66
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)	72	81	86
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 2020; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

 

Regional output in the Middle East and North Africa contracted 3.8 percent in 2020, due to the pandemic and the collapse in oil prices. It is expected to rebound by 2.2 percent in 2021, on the back of a global recovery and higher oil prices. But by the end of 2021, GDP losses are expected to be equivalent to more than $220 billion dollars, or 7.2 percent of 2019 levels. The region is expected to recover only partially in 2021, depending, in part, on a widespread rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

The pandemic has exacerbated the region’s long-standing development challenges, including high unemployment and underemployment among youth and women, weak trust in government, and poor returns on human capital investments. Poverty levels have risen across the region, while governments face deteriorating public finances and growing debt vulnerabilities. The challenges are especially acute in conflict-affected countries. Meanwhile, climate vulnerabilities continue to grow, intensifying threats to the region’s long-term development.

World Bank assistance

The World Bank approved $4.6 billion in lending to the region for 23 operations in fiscal 2021, including $4.0 billion in IBRD commitments and $658 million in IDA commitments. Another $114 million were provided for projects supporting the West Bank and Gaza. We delivered 134 Advisory Services and Analytics products, and revenue from Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) agreements reached $30 million. The consolidated advisory program continues to provide ongoing support to the reform process in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Our work with countries has several aims: to boost human capital by modernizing education, health, and social protection systems; to restore trust by strengthening governance and transparency; to create jobs by promoting competitive markets and private sector–led growth; to advance gender equity by bringing more women into the economy; to address fragility by supporting reconstruction and targeting the root causes of conflict; and to enable green growth by combating climate change and environmental degradation while preparing for energy transitions.

Protecting human capital amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Throughout the region, the Bank is helping countries respond to needs arising from COVID-19 while also supporting efforts to improve human capital. Our financing is helping address the learning crisis, reform education for better skills, strengthen health systems and public health capacity, and modernize social protection. We supported cash transfer projects in several countries to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and build more resilient and adaptive safety net systems that can cope with future crises and address high levels of labor informality. Under the restructured Lebanon Health Resilience Project, we provided $40 million to help the country procure ventilators, intensive care unit beds, and other critical equipment; a further $18 million was reallocated to support deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Through $15 million in additional financing to the Djibouti Integrated Cash Transfers Project, we are helping the country strengthen its social safety net system, expand access to basic services, and improve food security. In Jordan, we committed $20 million to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19 and strengthen the national health system. A separate project is providing cash support to poor and vulnerable households in Jordan that are affected by the pandemic.

In Yemen, the Bank committed $204 million to strengthen national institutions, provide cash transfers, create temporary employment opportunities, and increase access to basic services for those affected by COVID-19 and other shocks. To address ongoing challenges to education, we partnered with UNICEF and the World Food Programme through the $100 million Restoring Education and Learning Emergency Project to support teachers, facilitate school feeding programs, improve school infrastructure, and distribute learning materials and school supplies. We also partnered with the World Food Programme on the Food Security Response and Resilience Project, which will provide cash-for-work opportunities and nutritious food for vulnerable households. It will also help restore agricultural production, strengthen the value chain, and increase the sales of crops, livestock, and fish products—helping build longer-term resilience in Yemen.

Following the explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020, we launched a rapid damage and needs assessment in partnership with the EU and the UN. The assessment underpinned efforts to support recovery, address people’s basic needs, implement reforms, and rebuild critical assets, services, and infrastructure. In Saudi Arabia, our RAS is enabling historic reforms for women’s empowerment, while in the United Arab Emirates, our advisory services helped introduce paid parental leave in the private sector—a first in the region—and amend the labor law to mandate equal pay.

Strengthening governance and transparency

Across the region, perceptions of corruption and a lack of transparency undermine the effectiveness of crisis response efforts, thereby deepening economic impacts, undermining people’s trust in government, and threatening social cohesion. This is further compounded by limited or unreliable data and statistics. The Bank is working with countries to strengthen local governments’ capacity to deliver services and engage with citizens, thus helping renew the social contract. In Jordan, a new $500 million Program-for-Results aims to strengthen public and private investment and help the country capitalize on emerging opportunities for recovery, including in green growth, tourism development, and female labor force participation. By developing better systems for citizen feedback, the program will also help Jordan strengthen its accountability mechanisms to effectively implement new policies and promote investments.

Creating jobs by promoting competitive markets and private sector–led growth

The COVID-19 crisis has sharply reduced economic output in a region that was already struggling to create enough jobs for its young workforce. Lower demand, suspension of non-essential activities, financial constraints, facility closures, and supply chain interruptions have all disrupted key sectors. But there are also opportunities in emerging fields, such as digital service delivery, although these require investments in infrastructure, skills, and capacity. In Jordan, the $163 million Youth, Technology, and Jobs Project is helping poor and vulnerable youth—including both Jordanians and Syrians—find opportunities in the digital economy by improving market-relevant skills, providing access to finance for high-growth companies, and creating jobs. Similarly, a $15 million project in the West Bank and Gaza is helping create more highly skilled jobs at local IT firms.

Gender equality: bringing more women into the economy

The region has the world’s lowest female labor force participation, as women cope with fewer opportunities, limited voice and agency, legal restrictions, and financial exclusion. The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated these challenges, as women are burdened with greater care and household responsibilities and face higher rates of unemployment.

We work with countries to reduce these barriers. In Morocco, a $275 million operation is addressing women’s career constraints in the national civil protection system by promoting fairer hiring and promotion processes. Through our regional Gender Innovation Lab, we are also conducting impact evaluations to find ways to expand economic opportunities for women. And in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, the Mashreq Gender Facility is helping strengthen women’s economic participation.

Addressing fragility, conflict, and violence

Across the region, social and economic exclusion continue to be key drivers of conflict and instability. Costly and protracted civil wars have created a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons, while high levels of inequality between urban and rural areas have exacerbated these challenges. Under the regional action plan for fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), we are supporting the Bank Group’s broader efforts to address the drivers of fragility and conflict and strengthen resilience, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized people. Meanwhile, our regional Gender-Based Violence Action Plan and the Mashreq Displacement Framework are helping promote social inclusion and support for refugees and displaced persons.

In Lebanon, the $246 million Emergency Cash Transfer COVID-19 Response Project aims to provide cash transfers to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people, while expanding their access to social services. In Yemen, we are partnering with UN agencies to expand access to critical services—including water, sanitation, transport, and energy—while also boosting women and children’s health and nutrition. And in Jordan and Lebanon, the Global Concessional Financing Facility has mobilized $520 million through June 2021 to support Syrian refugees and host communities.      

In Iraq, the $750 million Emergency Operation Development Project has rebuilt three vital bridges across the Tigris River to help bring economic life back to Mosul. The project has also rehabilitated more than 400 kilometers of roads and 25 other bridges throughout Iraq. Reconstruction will begin on two other key bridges, including a major crossing between Mosul and Duhok that is important for trade. Despite challenges on the ground, we continue to help the government engage citizens through technology, flexible project design, and innovations in implementation.

Further Information: Middle East and North Africa Region Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2019–21

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY19	FY20	FY21
IBRD	4,872	3,419	3,976	4,790	2,415	2,764
IDA	611	203	658	647	151	379
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2021: $22.1 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Supporting countries as they move toward a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery

The World Bank is supporting the region’s countries as they emerge from the COVID-19 crisis and move toward a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery. Efforts focus on reducing emissions, boosting resilience in key sectors, transitioning to more sustainable modes of transport and mobility, and diversifying energy sources.

In Morocco, we analyzed ways to strengthen resilience and inclusion in recovery efforts. This informed the $250 million Morocco Green Generation Program-for-Results, which aims to increase job opportunities and generate income for youth in rural areas, as well as improve the efficiency, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability of the agrifood value chain. The program will work to expand the use of digital technologies in agriculture and promote climate-smart practices, as well as strengthen monitoring and evaluation capacity, to help put Morocco on the path to green growth.

In Egypt, we are helping the government with sound and effective deployment of electric mobility: we assessed the state of “e-mobility” in the country and identified areas for interventions. Insights from our analysis underpin the $200 million Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, which aims to reduce emissions from critical sectors in Cairo and surrounding areas. It focuses on lowering vehicle emissions, improving solid waste management, and developing a robust climate impact mitigation program. Efforts include electric buses that are being deployed and operated by the Cairo Transport Authority. Our advice is also helping the government build capacity to measure the value of emissions and waste as well as assess their impact on the economy.

In the West Bank and Gaza, the energy sector program exemplifies of how we apply the multiphase programmatic approach in a fragile context. It aligns with the Bank Group’s Assistance Strategy for the West Bank and Gaza and with the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority’s National Energy Strategy. The program aims to help the authority diversify energy sources, with a focus on renewables, while boosting financial and operational sustainability. It will also encourage private sector participation and increase the share of renewable energy and imports from neighboring countries.

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	279	333	396
Population growth (annual %)	1.8	1.8	1.7
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	1,596	3,996	3,163
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	4.4	3.4	-5.3
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)	792	1,253	1,471
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	3.5	2	7
Debt services as a proportion of exports of goods and services	13	6	11
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	24	26	25
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	36	33	31
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	45	29	24
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	81	89	92
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	1	21	60
Access to electricity (% of population)	90	95	97
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	3	3	3
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	82	86	89
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	86	91	93
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity. a. The most current data available between 2015 and 2020; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates.

South Asia is expected to grow by 6.8 percent in both 2021 and 2022, climbing back from a historic decline of 5.4 percent in 2020 due to COVID-19. South Asia is home to almost two-thirds of the world’s new extreme poor—those who became poor or could not escape poverty due to COVID-19. Even before the pandemic, between 120 million and 161 million people—an estimated 7 to 9 percent of the region’s population—were already living in extreme poverty.

South Asia is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters and climate change. Social exclusion exacerbates these impacts, as poor, vulnerable, and marginalized people are disproportionately exposed to hazards and have far fewer resources to recover.

World Bank assistance

The World Bank approved $10.9 billion in lending to the region for 56 operations in fiscal 2021, including $3.7 billion in IBRD commitments and $7.1 billion in IDA commitments. We also delivered 82 advisory services and analytical products to eight countries, totaling $47 million; these provided technical advice on issues such as pandemic preparedness and vaccination, debt management, job creation and female labor force participation, air pollution management, disaster risk management, and climate resilience.

In South Asia, we emphasize promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, investing in people, and strengthening resilience. To help countries respond to the COVID-19 crisis, we focused on strengthening health and social protection systems, delivering cash transfers and food to the most vulnerable, providing education to children, supporting small and medium businesses, and safeguarding and creating jobs. We also provided $922 million to support the purchase and rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Saving lives and livelihoods and protecting human capital

In the early stages of the pandemic, the Bank moved quickly to mitigate human capital losses and ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable people were protected from the worst impacts of the pandemic, with new projects and additional financing or repurposing of existing projects in social protection, education, and health. In Maldives, we committed $22 million in additional financing for the Emergency Income Support Project to distribute income support allowances for workers and increase the capacity of social protection programs to respond to future emergencies. In Pakistan, we provided $200 million to accelerate distance learning options for students, expand access to education through free public Wi-Fi hotspots, and facilitate training for teachers and administrators, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Investing in people for an inclusive recovery

We are supporting efforts to strengthen and expand social protection and health care systems and make them more equitable and inclusive. In India, we provided $1.2 billion to support reforms that will improve the delivery of social protection programs and expand coverage among vulnerable groups, including informal workers and migrants. The $1 billion COVID-19 Emergency Response Project is strengthening national and state health systems, supporting prevention and preparedness, and providing core public health services.

COVID-19 has also highlighted the need for more effective crisis response and greater household resilience to future shocks. Through the $600 million Crisis-Resilient Social Protection Program, we are helping Pakistan develop a more adaptive social protection system that will strengthen resilience among poor and vulnerable households during times of crisis. We are also supporting efforts to coordinate nutrition-sensitive cash transfers for the most vulnerable people and to implement policy actions that will help bring children back to school. In Sri Lanka, the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Project is bolstering the country’s emergency operations unit and epidemiological diseases surveillance system; it is also adapting selected hospitals as pandemic response centers and strengthening the country’s network of scientific laboratories.

Creating jobs and boosting growth for a resilient recovery

With roughly 1.5 million people in South Asia entering the job market every month, creating jobs is critical for a resilient recovery. In Bangladesh, we are supporting a series of three development policy credits totaling $750 million that focus on government reforms to modernize the trade and investment environment, protect workers and build their resilience, and enhance access to jobs for vulnerable people, especially during the pandemic. We are also providing $300 million to help more than 1 million people—especially youth, women, and people with disabilities—develop skills and access the labor market.

In India, we are providing cash and credit to small and medium enterprises—which employ more than 150 million people—to protect jobs and support more efficient and inclusive financing for these businesses in the future. In Nepal, we provided $80 million to bolster the agriculture sector by strengthening rural market linkages and promoting entrepreneurship. Job creation is also central to the new Country Partnership Framework for Bhutan.

We are also supporting countries as they undertake reforms to improve their fiscal position and private sectors. In Pakistan, we are helping strengthen fiscal and debt management, the financial viability of the power sector, and the investment climate. In Nepal, a $200 million operation is helping stabilize the financial sector, develop diverse financial solutions, and increase access to financial services for small and medium enterprises.

Tackling climate risks for a green recovery

South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate-related hazards. About 800 million people—44 percent of the region’s population—live in areas that will become moderate or severe climate hotspots by 2050 unless drastic action is taken. To address this urgent challenge, in line with the Bank Group's new Climate Change Action Plan, we are accelerating action toward a greener, low-carbon, and climate-resilient future through five major priorities: energy transition, food and agricultural systems, urban development, climate-adapted social protection systems and infrastructure, and a financial system and fiscal policies that take into account climate-related risks and opportunities.

We are helping countries implement renewable energy solutions and mobilize private sector investment. In Pakistan, a $550 million project is supporting the country’s transition to renewable energy resources to reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports and lower the costs of electricity production. In Maldives, we mobilized $42 million for solar energy solutions to reduce the country’s use of fossil fuels.

Promoting regional integration and cooperation

South Asia is one of the world’s least economically integrated regions. We work with countries to develop cross-border solutions to shared challenges, strengthen regional institutions, improve infrastructure and connectivity, advance trade policy, and build resilience to climate change and disasters. Our Connecting to Thrive report analyzes the barriers to regional transport integration. It finds that Bangladesh and India could increase their GDP by nearly 17 percent and 8 percent, respectively, if they establish better transport connectivity.

South Asia has the world’s highest levels of open dumping of plastic and waste. In partnership with the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme and Parley for the Oceans, we are supporting the Plastic-Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia Project, which seeks to curb marine plastic pollution and ramp up innovations to reinvent plastic use and production.

Further Information: South Asia Region Homepage >

 

Regional Commitments and Disbusements for Fiscal 2019–21

	COMMITMENTS ($ MILLIONS)			DISBURSEMENTS ($ MILLIONS)
	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY19	FY20	FY21
IBRD	4,011	5,565	3,746	2,598	3,158	3,665
IDA	4,849	6,092	7,127	4,159	5,235	5,744
Portfolio of operations under implementation as of June 30, 2021: $57.5 billion.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Bangladesh: Addressing the needs of the Rohingya and host communities 

Since 2017, Bangladesh has provided shelter to more than a million Rohingya people who have fled violence in Myanmar. The influx has placed enormous pressure on local infrastructure and stretched service delivery in Cox’s Bazar, one of the poorest districts in Bangladesh. We continue to help the government provide assistance, in coordination with humanitarian agencies, development partners, and nongovernmental organizations. We have mobilized $590 million in grant resources for Bangladesh—including $492 million from the IDA18 Regional Sub-Window for Refugees and Host Communities as well as support from Canada—for five projects to address the needs of Rohingya, until their safe, voluntary and dignified return to Myanmar, and host communities, including health, education, social safety nets, and basic service delivery. Our research also helps inform policy dialogue, support development priorities, and apply lessons learned. 

With $50 million in additional financing to a health sector support project, we are providing health and nutrition services for women and children in the Rohingya camps, as well as reproductive care and family planning support. The project has been adjusted to help address COVID-19 in the camps; it equipped isolation and treatment units with laboratories, radiological facilities, and oxygen supply, and provided more than 200 beds for COVID-19 patients, including 50 for pregnant women. A separate $150 million intervention is expanding access to health, nutrition, and family planning and helping prevent gender-based violence for nearly 4 million people, including the Rohingyas and host communities; in the camps, this supports psychosocial counseling, immunization coverage, tuberculosis screening and treatment, and nutrition services.

A $25 million education operation provides learning and psychosocial support to 350,000 Rohingya children and youth. Services have continued amid COVID-19 lockdowns through training on home-based learning for parents and caregivers. The project has also helped youths in host communities access vocational training. And through the national safety net program, a $100 million grant is providing livelihoods and income support to 40,000 poor and vulnerable households in host communities while scaling up social protection coverage for 85,000 Rohingya households.

In addition, grants totaling $265 million are helping enhance infrastructure and improve community resilience. Efforts will reach more than 780,000 people, including 140,000 from host communities. About 366,000 people will be able to access better water sources and sanitation thanks to infrastructure upgrades and installation of household and community toilets in Cox’s Bazar. The project will also build multipurpose disaster shelters, climate-resilient evacuation roads, and solar street lights, as well as strengthen the government’s capacity to respond to emergencies.

 

Regional Snapshot

INDICATOR	2000	2010	CURRENT DATAa
Total population (millions)	1,391	1,639	1,857
Population growth (annual %)	1.9	1.4	1.1
GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$)	445	1,147	1,821
GDP per capita growth (annual %)	2.1	6.2	-7.6
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	68
Carbon dioxide emissions (megatons)	1,076	1,884	2,770
Extreme poverty (% of population below $1.90 a day, 2011 PPP)	40.0b	26	15.2
Debt services as a proportion of exports of goods and services	15	3	5
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)	36	33	31
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)	80	78	69
Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births	93	62	40
Primary completion rate (% of relevant age group)	69	87	90
Individuals using the internet (% of population)	0	7	20
Access to electricity (% of population)	57	73	94
Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)	53	42	38
People using at least basic sanitation services (% of population)	20	43	59
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)	80	87	92
Note: ILO = International Labour Organization; PPP = purchasing power parity. a. The most current data available between 2014 and 2020; visit http://data.worldbank.org for data updates. b. 2002 data. For poverty estimates, see the regional groups on http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/data.aspx.