Georgia is the only country in the CAC region that can access markets around the world through its own seaports and thus less dependent on China's BRI overland corridors for trade, investment and growth. Nevertheless, the Georgian government is investing in the one BRI corridor China, Europe...

Armenia is a small land-locked mountainous country with relatively difficult access to regional and global markets. The borders with Azerbaijan in the east and with Turkey in the southwest and west are closed. Only the borders with Georgia in the north and Iran in the south are open for trade...

Uzbekistan is a resource-rich country with a relatively young population of 33 million, the largest in Central Asia. It is also a geographic pivot for the region, bordering all other Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, with transit connections in all directions. As a double landlocked...

Tajikistan is the poorest country in the region despite strong growth for nearly two decades; sustaining growth in future will need substantially higher growth in private investment and exports. Its per capita income (GNI) is close to USD 1,000 but nearly a third of its population, of around 9...

Kazakhstan is an upper-middle income, resource rich country. Its ascent to upper-middle income status was propelled by rising oil production and booming oil prices which pushed the average annual rate to above 7 percent during 2000-2013. The halving of world oil prices and lower export demand...

The Republic of Korea achieved universal health coverage in 1989, twelve years after the introduction of mandatory health insurance for employees in large corporations. Political legitimization of the authoritarian regime and rapid economic growth contributed to the rapid extension of health...

As a country with one of the highest male smoking rates and one of the lowest cigarette prices in the world, Korea has prioritized many tobacco control efforts, including bans on smoking in public places, regulations on tobacco advertising, and public education about the harms of tobacco use....

On 23 March 2017, the World Bank Group hosted a workshop focusing on how to improve skills in South Africa and thus enhance employability of South Africans, with the ultimate goal to reduce poverty and inequality. This paper provides an overview of the South Korean job training system which...

The number of individuals who have crossed borders has mushroomed over recent years. The phenomenon of international migration, however, is heterogeneous in terms of the underlying motives and aspirations of migrants. Forced international migrants are involuntarily displaced refugees who flee...

This learning note aims to document the experience of the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea (BAI) and the online administrative appeals hub system of Korea's Central Administrative Appeals Commission (CAAC) in leveraging ICT platforms for citizen engagement. The note both analyzes...