New World Bank report calls for more investment in better waste management and circular economy
WASHINGTON, January 27, 2026 — The Middle East and North Africa region generates more waste per person than the global average and causes an estimated US$7.2 billion in environmental damage each year, according to a new World Bank report: Waste Management in the Middle East and North Africa.
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In 2017, a ransomware spread across multiple countries, causing an estimated $10 billion in damage to businesses worldwide. More recently, in Costa Rica, a major incident in 2022 forced the government to declare a national state of emergency and resulted in losses up to 2.4% of GDP.
Digital technologies are reshaping economies and public services, but they also introduce new and persistent risks. Cyber incidents can disrupt essential services, undermine trust in public institutions, and erase development gains built over years.
Cybersecurity, therefore, is no longer a narrow technical concern. It is a foundational element of economic growth, national security, and inclusive digital development.
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WASHINGTON, January 20, 2026—“Frontier market” economies—a cluster of mostly middle-income economies regarded as the proving ground for the next generation of economic superstars—have largely failed to live up to their potential in recent decades, a new World Bank study has found. On average, investment growth per person in the 2020s so far has been less than half the rate in the 2010s. Yet the experience of the top performers among frontier markets reveals lessons for the 56 economies currently in the cluster.
Continue readingFirst, the good news: in the face of one shock after another, the global economy has proved to be surprisingly shock-proof since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite steep tariff increases and historically high policy uncertainty during the last 12 months, global GDP growth in 2025 is set to come in at 2.7 percent—the pace that was predicted in January 2025. That rate should hold roughly steady through 2027. Inflation is abating. Interest rates are coming down. Investors are again showing signs of exuberance. At least by one measure, the global recovery from the coronavirus-era recession will go down as the strongest in six decades: global GDP per person in 2025 was 10 percent higher than it was on the eve of the pandemic. Subsequent shocks—wars, inflation, and tariffs—did less damage than most economists feared.
Continue readingYou are receiving this email because you signed up for our World Bank Live Updates. We want to let you know that we have a new event coming up. February 11, 2026 <a href="https://t.newsletterext.worldbank.org/r/?id=h2b08fbb1,eee1fdd,ef262e4&e=cDE9PGIgc3R5bGU9J2NvbG9yOg&s=moq4BV9sf59jrkGzm1tQd27yflhKkjicSn9DILXeFME#004370;font-size:16px;'>Making AI Work for All: You Ask, We Answer Making AI Work for All: You Ask, We Answer Location: Online  What is small AI, and how can it help developing countries tackle real-world challenges? In this live Q&A, two World Bank Group experts, Johan Bjurman Bergman and Lana Graf, will discuss how practical, affordable, and adaptable AI tools are improving health, agriculture, education, service delivery, and support for small businesses.Submit your questions in advance to learn how governments are expanding access to AI foundations—skills, data, and computing infrastructure—and why partnerships with the private sector matter for scaling solutions. Sign up for an event reminder and join us live. Experts will answer questions in the chat during the session. World Bank Live Development Events Brought to You Live |
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From urbanization to agriculture, land systems touch nearly every aspect of development. That’s why the World Bank Group has launched the Land Data Map, a new interactive platform designed to make land data more accessible, interactive, and practical.
Built for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and communities alike, this new tool offers a fresh way to engage with land data — and demonstrates how data-driven insights can help improve development outcomes across sectors.
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Throughout history, water has been the quiet engine behind progress: farmers irrigate fields to grow crops; industry needs it to produce goods and generate energy; and people, communities and cities draw on it for drinking, sanitation, and public health. Technology also made it possible to reach deeper aquifers and more distant rivers, expanding water use and exposing fundamental tensions in how water is valued and distributed, and who bears the costs.
Continue readingWASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2026 —The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved three projects to help the Indian state of Assam increase resilience to extreme weather events, improve governance and service delivery, and provide more than 4 million students with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.
Assam, located in India’s northeast, is uniquely positioned as the gateway to Southeast Asia, offering strategic connectivity for regional trade and integration. At the same time, Assam faces challenges such as climate vulnerability, inadequate infrastructure, and multidimensional poverty, which hinder inclusive growth.
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Jobs are the best way to end poverty and give people hope, dignity, and a better future. That’s why the World Bank Group is changing the way we do things—ensuring that all our operations have a clear line of sight to employment. With more than a billion young people entering the labor market in the next decade, the world needs more jobs than ever before. But we can’t do it alone.
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Netherlands for the World Bank 