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Results and Performance of the World Bank Group 2025 (Concept Note)
Get PDFThe Results and Performance of the World Bank Group 2025 (RAP 2025) report presents a two-part review of the lending and non-lending support of the World Bank Group. Part 1 will focus on trends in project- and country-level effectiveness and will be
anchored in the Bank Group’s Outcomes horizontal. Part 2 will present an analysis of the use of World Bank advisory services and analytics (ASA) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) advisory services (AS) and will be anchored in the Bank Group’s Knowledge and Learning horizontal. RAP 2025 has two objectives: first, to present trends in Bank Group performance ratings; and second, to present evidence on the use of World Bank ASA and IFC AS. The analysis in the RAP will lay the foundation for future IEG evaluations on WBG
knowledge engagements
World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, October 2025: Jobs
Get PDFGDP growth in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region remains above the global average but is projected to slow down in 2025 and even further in 2026. The sluggishness is due to a less favorable external environment—rising trade restrictions, easing but still elevated global uncertainty, and slowing global growth—as well as persistent domestic difficulties. Today, many people are in low-productivity or informal jobs, and many of the young cannot find any jobs. The class of people vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries. In a region that thrived because export-oriented, labor-intensive growth created more productive jobs, firms must deal with higher tariffs and workers must contend with the growing use of robots, AI and digital platforms. More productive jobs would be created by reforms to enhance economic opportunity, human capacity and their virtuous interplay
Trends and Differentials in Household Out-of-Pocket Spending for Health in Viet Nam, 2010–2022
Get PDFThis report examines household out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending in Viet Nam from 2010 to 2022. Despite high health insurance coverage (91percent in 2022) and reduced catastrophic health expenditure, OOP spending remains high, about 40 percent of current health expenditure, well above WHO’s recommended 15–20 percent. Per capita OOP spending has risen, especially for inpatient care, and the COVID-19 pandemic shifted spending toward retail pharmaceuticals. Large disparities exist by income, age, ethnicity, and region, with wealthier groups spending much more and vulnerable populations facing higher burdens. Pharmaceutical OOP spending is especially high (75 percent in 2022), indicating a need for better prescription enforcement and medication quality. The report recommends policy reforms to improve financial protection and service access for vulnerable groups, strengthen primary care, and enhance monitoring of OOP spending
Integrating Aquaculture into Landscapes and Seascapes: Enhancing Aquaculture Sustainability with Innovations in Ecofriendly Aquafeeds
Get PDFThis report, Enhancing Aquaculture Sustainability with Innovations in Ecofriendly Aquafeeds, brings together a set of case studies and analyses designed to enable World Bank task team leaders (TTLs) and client teams explore how sustainable, ecofriendly aquafeeds—particularly those incorporating alternative ingredients—can enhance the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of aquaculture systems. It provides a comprehensive analysis of aquafeed sector development across nascent, emerging, and mature markets, offering investment guidance and
technical insights to support climate-resilient, inclusive, and circular aquaculture growth models. The goal is to help teams make informed decisions, develop effective project strategies, and contribute to the improvement of food security, nutrition, job creation, climate change mitigation, biodiversity enhancement, and other objectives in their respective aquaculture projects
A World Without Lead: Paving the Path to a Healthy, Productive Future
Get PDFDespite robust evidence documenting the tragic and widespread consequences of lead exposure, the issue has received little attention from policy makers around the world. Recent calls to action by the G-7 have increased the visibility of this issue. This publication aims to contribute to creating a lead-free world by raising
awareness about the widespread and significant health impacts caused by lead exposure, while also highlighting best practices and lessons learned
from interventions and policy reforms implemented to address it
Nature's Bottom Line: The Economic and Financial Costs of Ecosystem Degradation in Kenya
No full textKenya’s economy is highly dependent on its diverse ecosystems which are under threat of unprecedented degradation. Key sectors like agriculture, tourism, and energy rely heavily on ecosystem services, but these services are rapidly degrading as a result of climate change, deforestation, pollution, unsustainable land use and pressures from population growth. Data from ENCORE suggests that about
44 percent of Kenya’s GDP comes from sectors highly dependent on ecosystem services like water provision, flood protection, and climate regulation (Figure ES.1). Agriculture, real estate and construction, which are key engines of Kenya’s economy, are particularly reliant on these services. The exposure to nature physical risks varies significantly across different geographies and sectors, with 18 percent of
Kenya’s GDP originating from counties at high risk of ecosystem degradation of enabling ecosystem services
At a Crossroads: Prospects for Government Health Financing Amidst Declining Aid
Get PDFInvesting in health is one of the most powerful drivers of human capital formation, economic growth, and job creation. However, low- and lower-middle-income countries are at a crossroads with growing economic uncertainty and sharp cuts to external aid. This report–part of an annual series–monitors the latest trends and provides an outlook on government and donor health spending in these countries. Government health spending remains well below the minimum needed to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and has stagnated since 2018. Most LICs (80%) and many LMICs (40%) are projected to face a decline in combined government and donor health spending by 2030 as sharp cuts to development assistance for health—projected to decline by around 20%—offset modest growth in government spending. However, countries have policy options to alter their trajectories by spending better and spending more on health under fiscal constraints. Crucially, aid-dependent countries have a reform window to restructure and reshape their health systems in line with domestic priorities as aid dwindles. And it is feasible to raise the share of government spending on health in a third of LICs and LMICs—they have the fiscal space and underprioritize health compared to peers. While the challenge may appear daunting, bold reforms will deliver rapid gains by saving lives, creating jobs, and driving economic growth
Coverage and Beyond
Get PDFSocial protection and labor programs, such as social assistance, social insurance, or labor and economic inclusion interventions, create pathways to self-reliance, financial inclusion, and financial stability. And when crises hit, they become critical lifelines. Yet, in 2024, nearly 2 billion people still lacked any form of protection and at the current pace, closing the gap would take another two decades. In the context of the polycrisis, including slow economic growth, fiscal pressures, fragility and conflict, food insecurity, escalating climate risks, and the lingering effects of COVID-19, limited social protection coverage is hindering effective responses. Strengthening social protection systems and expanding coverage have therefore never been more urgent. The World Bank, in collaboration with partners, has committed to support an additional 500 million poor and vulnerable individuals with social protection and labor programs by 2030. This ambitious goal demands innovative and efficient approaches to ensure that available resources are directed to those in need, while minimizing administrative burdens and transaction costs. A key enabler is digital technology, particularly dynamic social registries that can identify beneficiaries and assess their needs, not only in crisis, but also during stable times. If complemented by strong human and institutional capacity, dynamic social registries enable social protection responses that can swiftly adapt to evolving needs and everyday shocks. They help uplift people out of poverty, manage income shocks, and navigate life-cycle income losses. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the global landscape of social registries is a key first step in helping governments establish or improve social protection and labor systems that are also shock responsive. This brief provides an overview of this landscape with the aim of fostering dialogue and partnerships as we all work together to help countries build or strengthen social registries and transform them into effective platforms to deliver social protection and support the delivery of labor market services, health and education interventions, and disaster risk management initiatives
Democratic Republic of Congo: Country Program Evaluation (Approach Paper)
Get PDFThis Country Program Evaluation (CPE) will assess the performance of the World Bank Group’s assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between FY 2013 and FY24. The evaluation seeks to identify lessons to inform future Bank Group engagements in the DRC, including the next CPF, which is due to be approved in 2026. The CPE will assess three areas of the Bank Group's engagement: support for diversifying the DRC’s economy, support for governance reforms, and adaptation of engagement to challenges of fragility and conflict. Education was selected as an illustrative case of both effectiveness in strengthening public financial management and mitigating Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) challenges because improving access and quality in this sector is foundational to the DRC’s path toward sustained development and stability. These areas were chosen based on country diagnostics and analytics; an initial examination of the portfolios of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and preliminary conversations with the Bank Group country team. They were further informed by government strategies throughout the evaluation period
Who Bears the Burden of Fuel Taxation in Latin America and the Caribbean Countries?
Get PDFThis study explores the short-term welfare and distributive effects of selected fuel tax and subsidy reforms in six countries in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region that are aimed at promoting the transformation of energy systems and have the potential to generate much-needed fiscal revenue. The analysis focuses on the immediate effects of higher fuel taxes (and lower subsidies) on household purchasing power in a partial equilibrium exercise. The exercise applies tools for the analysis of fiscal incidence (following the Commitment to Equity [CEQ] methodology; refer to Lustig 2022a, 2022b) that have been developed to account for the direct and indirect price effects of fuel taxes and subsidies in Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The methodology consists in comparing household per capita income before and after fuel taxes and assuming that households have not yet adjusted their consumption choices. It relies on detailed household income and expenditure survey
data and input-output tables for the quantification of the indirect price effects. The analysis explores the impact of taxes on various types of fossil fuels, namely, gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, kerosene, and ethanol. Alternative fuel tax policies are evaluated against a baseline scenario reflecting a country’s tax structure in a baseline year. In addition, the study examines how a compensation mechanism based on existing social protection programs can help partially offset these effects in each country