Climate action is critical for development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region contains countries among the most affected by climate change but least prepared to address it. This report introduces key findings of the World Bank Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs)...

Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been weak since the global financial crisis of 2007-09 and the Arab Spring of the early 2010s. Achieving higher and sustainable growth is particularly important in view of other economic challenges facing the region: public debt in...

This note is intended to support ongoing efforts to promote Pan-Arab energy trade by highlighting the role and benefits of intra-regional electricity and gas exchange, with a view to improving energy security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. After some background, this note...

This report discusses strengthening the provision of payment services in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as an essential step to integrate their economies into the world of 'digital finance and digital economy' and to support economic development. The report...

Policy makers across the Middle East and North Africa have for many years articulated plans to integrate their people spatially and economically. Wishing to bring communities together and narrow economic gaps, governments have made large capital investments in transport corridors and "new...

The formal private sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) economies needs to play a critical role for the overall economic transformation of the region. Creating a conducive environment for private sector development depends on a sound understanding of the performance of private...

Protracted crises in urban contexts of the Middle East and North Africa region present a growing challenge for water supply and sanitation (WSS) service providers and, in turn, the governments and international organizations that support them. The protracted nature of crisis in countries...

The main objective of this report is to provide an intermediate step toward building more energy-efficient economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The present study complements the 2009 Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) report by providing a quantitative...

Conceived in order to provide a crucial baseline in research on internationalization in MENA, this report draws on available data to respond to both a real need for regional analysis and a direct demand from stakeholders, including tertiary education institutions in the region. Encouraging...

Through successive royal speeches and digital transformation strategies, Morocco has identified the digital transformation of government, the economy, and society as high priorities for the country's new development model and for strengthening the social contract between the state and citizens....