In the last three decades, East Asia has reaped the demographic dividend. An abundant and growing labor force powered almost one-third of the region’s per capita income growth from the 1960s to…

Axel van Trotsenburg |

El Niño is back and may be stronger than ever.   A wooden boat is seen stranded on the dry cracked riverbed of the Dawuhan Dam during drought season in Madiun, Indonesia's East Java province…

Axel van Trotsenburg |

The capital Dili has many new good roads with an increase of infrastructure spending. Photo: Tom Perry/World Bank           

Bolormaa Amgaabazar |

Also available in: Français | العربية   A boat trip from Port Elizabeth to Kingstown, in the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is a one-hour trip that locals take several…

Valerie Lorena |

Photo by: Cornelio Quintao De Carvalho / World Bank In a blog, World Bank Senior Director for Education Claudia Costin praised Fernando La Sama de Araujo, the recently deceased Minister of…

Harry A. Patrinos, Lucinda Ramos |

Fernando La Sama de Araujo, the recently deceased Minister of Education of Timor Leste, was a freedom fighter and a visionary leader. “La Sama”, which means unbreakable, dedicated his life to the…

Claudia Costin |

After 13 years of independence, Timor-Leste has achieved tremendous progress since being ravaged by conflict – drawing down money from the Petroleum Fund and channeling it through the budget to…

Joao dos Santos |

Photo: UN Photo/Bernardino Suares In late 2011, as part of our Institutions Taking Root (ITR) series, my colleagues and I visited some of the most remote villages in Timor-Leste to seek feedback…

Catherine Anderson |

In PDF: Korean | Khmer Every time I learn of another natural disaster – the people killed and injured, homes destroyed, livelihoods lost – I know we must act to reduce the tragic impact instead of…

Axel van Trotsenburg |

View of Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: David Davidson/flickr Geographically and historically, Azerbaijan has often been at the crossroads: of trade routes, cultures, and influences. From a telecom…

Natalija Gelvanovska-Garcia, Zhenia Viatchaninova Dalphond |