Although economic linkages between South Asia and Southeast Asia have been strengthened over the past decade, integration between these two regions remains limited. Can new approaches to regional integration help revitalize trade and economic links between South Asia and Southeast Asia This...

Thailand needs to avoid the high-carbon growth path of many developed countries and, instead, take a low-carbon growth path. A green low-carbon growth path is in Thailand's own interest as it can simultaneously tackle local environmental degradation, global climate change, and energy security...

A team of energy experts from 15 agencies worked under the leadership of the World Bank and the International Energy Agency to produce this comprehensive snapshot of the status of more than 170 countries with respect to energy access, action on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and energy...

Since February 2022, geopolitical events have made clear Europe's need to diversify its energy sources and avoid excessive dependence on fossil fuel imports. The drop in Russian natural gas flows to Europe in 2022 marked the single largest supply shock in the history of global gas markets. It...

This report is part of a larger series of stocktaking and analytical products on plastic pollution in South Asia. It supports the Bank's commitment to work with countries of South Asia to pursue and scale-up policies and programs that help them move toward a circular plastic economy and, in...

South Asia region's economies continue on a recovery path, with production and export having recovered to pre-COVID trend levels. But the recovery has been uneven across countries and sectors, and significant risks exist that could jeopardize short-term recovery and long-term growth. Over the...

This report provides a region-wide analysis on the status of the digital economy in South Asia. It identifies opportunities and challenges for national and regional action to realize the transformational potential of digitalizing economies, societies, and governments. The report synthesizes and...

The report presents both the opportunities of and the bottlenecks for furthering the digital agenda. It emphasizes that the first step is to get the basics right. This includes enabling access to and adoption of high-quality affordable broadband, initiating a paradigm shift in building digital...

South Asia's growth rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but inflation is higher, and the Russia-Ukraine war will add to these pressures, negatively impact external balances, and exacerbate financial vulnerabilities. Higher energy prices provide an opportunity to transition to greater use...

The South Asia Economic Focus is a biannual economic update presenting recent economic developments and a near term economic outlook for South Asia. It includes a Focus section presenting more in depth analysis of an economic topic of relevance for stability, growth and prosperity in the region...