When I was based in the field, I often noticed that many of the journalists working in Africa had not been specifically trained to report on development-related matters, which at times hobbled…

Haleh Bridi |

Those of you who have visited Dubai in recent years may relate to what I am going to say: Dubai is in the middle of the desert, and its land, not that long ago, was really worth nothing. Now it is…

Wael Zakout |

A growing number of students in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are enrolled in private primary or secondary schools. The World Development Report 2018 (on which I was a co-author) highlighted…

David Evans |

World Bank Vice President, Hafez Ghanem addresses the key factors influencing the economies of the Middle East and North Africa region, and the steps needed to promote more sustainable growth and…

Web Team |

Every year, Iranian schools and universities are in back in session on the first day of autumn—September 23rd. Despite educating some of the world’s top minds, such as the late Maryam Mirzakhani,…

Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou |

This is the second part of our interview with with Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, World Bank Practice Manager in the Education Global Practice, on the challenges faced by the region’s education systems…

Web Team |

On the heels of the first World Development Report focused entirely on education, and its critical importance for stable and inclusive societies, we launch our annual ‘Back to School’ series that…

Web Team |

History repeats, history rhymes and sometimes history regresses. Wandering through cities and fields in the Middle East and North Africa a thousand years ago, you would have been struck by the…

Torgny Holmgren |

Our continued belief in the enormous resourcefulness, resilience and sheer drive of young Arab women has yet again been reconfirmed. 

Ayat Soliman, Olivier Lavinal |

Born in Tunisia, Selma Turki left her native country for France when she was two. She returned to Tunisia for high school and to pass her Baccalaureate. She studied architecture for two years at…

Web Team |