Central America is undergoing an important transition, with urban populations increasingat accelerated speeds, bringing pressing challenges as well as opportunities to boost sustained,inclusive and resilient growth. Today, 59 percent of Central America's population lives in urban areas, but it...

The objective of this report is to inform the government's policies and strategies on urbanization as a driver of economic development, job creation, and poverty reduction. Note 1 examines Rwanda's urbanization process since 2002 by analyzing satellite images and other sources. This note...

The Mozambique urbanization review aimed at contributing to the country's policy and institutional reform agenda on how to harness the full potential of urbanization to promote economic growth and poverty reduction. The study carried out in-depth analyses of the urbanization process, uncovering...

Urbanization in Myanmar is still in an early phase with slightly less than one-third of the population living in cities. This presents an enormous opportunity for the country. Cities are engines of growth and prosperity, which facilitate industries to grow jobs, services and innovations. Cities...

Despite its small population and land area, Bhutan is among the most rapidly urbanizing countries in South Asia. While this urbanization parallels robust economic growth and the expansion of job and investment opportunities in cities, there remain challenges to fully leveraging the potential of...

To accelerate growth and create jobs, the Western Balkans and Croatia will need faster economic growth generated by advanced industries and services that usually concentrate in cities. Raising the competitiveness of leading cities will thus be the priority for growth and job creation in the...

This report is the outcome of brief visits to three cities - Maseru, Lusaka, and Harare, culminating in a Southern Africa regional workshop in Livingstone in May 2019. The objective of this workshop was to: (a) develop an understanding of the complexity of urban transport; (b) learn from...

Tanzania's growth and poverty reduction aspirations hinge on shifting from a reliance on agriculture toward greater productivity. Cities' key role in generating a more competitive economy is already apparent: in 2012, just four Tanzanian cities produced more than half of the country's gross...

The Niger Urbanization Review aims to improve our understanding of urbanization and local governance in Niger by analyzing the current and potential contribution of urbanization to the country's long-term national development and the institutional and financial capacity of local governments to...

Through the development of informed policies and targeted investments, the objective of this Comoros urbanization review is to provide analytical support to improve the living conditions of Comoros' urban population, especially the poor living in informal settlements and hazard prone areas. The...