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...

This report presents the findings of a diagnostic study examining pathways and options for strengthening the governance of South Asia's groundwater resources in the face of climate change and increasing reliance on the resource by dependent communities, particularly during times of drought. This...

There is an increasing recognition that policy initiatives at the regional level can complement and strengthen country road safety strategies and programs. This is certainly the case in the South Asia region, with implications for regional road safety investment priorities and potential for...

International migration for temporary employment is a critical component of South Asia's development path, from both the jobs and remittance flows perspectives. South Asian economies are at a stage of demographic transition where people of working-age are generally still increasing shares of...

From the near twenty million metropolitan city of Karachi, in Pakistan to the 400,000 person city of Pokhara, in Nepal, mayors and decisions makers are struggling to raise financing for capital investments in their cities that could deliver improved services to their communities, with the key...