Since early May 2020, many countries in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region have conducted high-frequency household phone surveys to monitor the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and to inform…

The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating lives and livelihoods globally. Before the pandemic, the World Bank projected that 35 million people in East Asia and the Pacific would escape poverty in 2020…

Protecting ASEAN’s impressive gains over the past two decades will require prioritizing investments in people – that is, human capital.

Among the 29 countries and economies of the East Asia and Pacific region, one finds some of the world’s most successful education systems. Seven out of the top 10 highest average scorers on…

Photo: © World Bank Better jobs, higher salaries and improved access to basic services – the bright lights of cities seem to promise these and more.

A mother brings her baby to Mitthaphap Hospital for a checkup. Photo: World Bank Lao PDR
On this Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, it is striking to us, working in Lao PDR’s health sector…

For many Pacific Island countries, natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunamis, are an all-too common occurrence. Out of the top 15 most at-risk countries for natural disasters globally, four…

Students at Beijing Bayi High School in China. Photo: World Bank In 1950, the average working-age person in the world had  almost three years of education, but in East Asia and Pacific (EAP), the…

Students from Tran Dai Nghia High School near Can Tho, Vietnam (Photo: D7K_4030 by makzhou, used under CC BY-NC 4.0 / cropped from original) With the release last month of the latest PISA (Program…

My visit to Lao PDR this week has convinced me that this nation is moving toward the right path to sustained economic growth, which could lead to less poverty and better lives for all of its…