The World Bank in Europe and Central Asia

Economic growth for the emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) of the Europe and Central Asia region is expected to drop to 2.8% in 2024, following a substantial strengthening to 3.3% in 2023. This is due to a shift from contraction to expansion in the Russian Federation and war-hit Ukraine, and a more robust recovery in Central Asia. Regional output growth is likely to remain broadly unchanged in 2025.

Such sluggish growth will further delay the region’s recovery from recent shocks, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which remains ongoing, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2022 cost-of-living crisis. 

In Ukraine, the pace of recovery is projected to slow to 3.2% this year from 4.8% in 2023, reflecting a smaller harvest and persistent labor shortage. The country’s economic outlook remains conditional on donor support and the duration of Russia’s invasion. According to recent estimates by the World Bank and partner institutions, the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine has grown to $486 billion, which is more than two times the size of Ukraine’s pre-war economy in 2021.

Learn More: Regional Economic Update Spring 2024

Last Updated: Apr 16, 2024

The World Bank works with countries in Europe and Central Asia to eliminate poverty and promote shared prosperity, through boosting human capital, facilitating green transitions, enabling markets and building & strengthening institutions. Unprecedented shocks and uncertainty have hit the region in recent years—from COVID-19 and the impacts of climate change through to the catastrophic human tragedies from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye—requiring a pivot within these engagement areas towards boosting resilience and protecting and strengthening the foundations of future prosperity:

• Protect human capital from the impacts of the region’s recent crises and reverse its long-term erosion
• Maintain momentum on the region’s green transition, strengthen energy security and resilience, as well as ensure an inclusive and just transition
• Support private sector crisis response and resilience, enable new markets in support of green transition, productivity growth and greater inclusion across Europe and Central Asia
• Support public sector crisis response and resilience as well as strengthen the effectiveness, accountability and modernization of institutions to improve service delivery and build back better

Looking forward, crisis response and boosting resilience are likely to remain near-term priorities. In addition, while focusing on medium-term country outcomes, the Bank is also expanding innovative engagements addressing global and regional challenges.

Results

We work with client countries to fight poverty and boost shared prosperity by helping them build more responsible institutions, increase private investment, improve service delivery, upgrade infrastructure, protect the environment, support human development, and empower marginalized groups.

In order to deliver integrated solutions that help countries address their development challenges, we regularly look at where we are achieving results and making an impact. By measuring and monitoring those results, we can then improve the way we support our clients and achieve better development outcomes.

Find out more about our results in Europe and Central Asia.

Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS)

Middle-income countries interested in highly specific knowledge services that exceed what the Bank can finance from its own resources are increasingly accessing Bank technical expertise using Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS).

Analytical Work Highlights

In addition to its financial products and RASs, the Bank produces important research about critical issues in the region. Through its analytical work, the World Bank aims to bring global knowledge and adapt it to the needs of countries across Europe and Central Asia.

Find out more about our publications and research on Europe and Central Asia.

European Union, European Commission, and other institutions

The World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region has a strategic partnership with the European Union (EU), and is working with the European Commission (EC) and European international financial institutions (IFIs) to improve the capacity of ECA’s EU-member clients to absorb EU funds.

The Bank works closely together with EU institutions, European IFIs (European Investment Bank [EIB] and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD]), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the second Vienna Initiative, which aims to improve banking systems and coordination among banking regulators in EU and non-EU countries.

The World Bank Group, the EBRD, and the EIB Group came together in November 2012 for a new Joint International Financial Institution (IFI) Action Plan. One of the most important priorities under the Action Plan was to ensure continued financing for SMEs that are key drivers of innovation and job creation in the region.

ECA works on Roma inclusion across the region in collaboration with various partners, including the European Commission, the Roma Education Fund, and a variety of national Roma agencies.

The Bank is also working with the EurAsian Economic Community’s (EURASEC) Anti-Crisis Fund and with the Eurasian Development Bank to provide parallel financing for low-income ECA countries.