The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
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Total publications: 39,402
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Publication Cyprus - Management of Wildfire Risk(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-29) World BankThe Republic of Cyprus (hereafter referred to as ‘Cyprus’) faces a significant and increasing risk of wildfires, as evidenced by recent large-scale fires. The island is becoming susceptible to extreme weather events, fueled by climate change. Despite being an island of less than 10,000 km², Cyprus ranks second out of 24 European countries in terms of the ratio of burned area to land mass. Wildfires pose a hazard across all regions of Cyprus, with forested areas being particularly at risk, and fire occurrence being frequently recorded in rural areas of the Paphos and Limassol districts. The likelihood of weather conditions leading to wildfires that can cause loss of life and property is estimated to be greater than 50 percent in any given year, with the highest risk between June and August, according to the National Risk Assessment (NRA). This report summarizes the results of a rapid review of wildfire risk and management capacity in Cyprus, highlighting potential risk management priorities to inform policy dialogue and future research. The review considers capacity across multiple dimensions, including governance, understanding wildfire risk, risk reduction and mitigation, early warning and public awareness, preparedness and emergency response, recovery and post-disaster financing, and cross-cutting topics such as social resilience and the role of the private sector. Drawing on available information, each chapter reviews the general context and current arrangements, including key challenges, as well as opportunities for improvement relevant to Cyprus.Publication Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries: What Works? Revisiting the Evidence Base(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-30) Siegrist, Felicia NorinaThis paper presents the findings of a systematic review synthesizing evidence on what works to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries. It covers both the evidence of constraints women entrepreneurs are facing and evidence of intervention effectiveness in four focus areas: GENto finance, access to skills and networks, access to markets and technology, and an enabling environment. The review also identifies evidence gaps and highlights research opportunities for each focus area. The paper’s main contribution is a conceptual and comprehensive mapping of the literature, classifying the strength and direction of evidence across various interventions. It provides a dynamic view of how the literature is evolving, highlights where evidence gaps remain, and is intended as a resource for both researchers and policymakers/practitioners.Publication Central African Republic (CAR) Economic Update: 7th Edition - Optimizing CAR’s Multidimensional Wealth for Sustainable Prosperity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-30) World BankThe 2025 Economic Update for the Central African Republic (CAR) analyzes the 2024 economic and poverty trends, provides a baseline outlook for 2025-27, and explores strategies to optimize multidimensional wealth for sustainable growth and prosperity. The report is divided into two chapters: Chapter 1 reviews recent economic developments and poverty dynamics, while Chapter 2 focuses on leveraging CAR’s natural, produced, and human capital to address persistent challenges and unlock prosperity.Publication Croatia - Management of Earthquake Risk(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-29) World BankCroatia faces significant earthquake risk due to its moderate to high seismic activity and its vulnerable, aging buildings and other infrastructure. Although earthquakes are comparatively rare in Croatia, they nonetheless pose considerable risk. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the country experienced a series of earthquakes, some of the strongest since 1880: earthquakes in March (M5.5) and December (M6.2) caused an estimated Euro 16.1 billion in damage and economic losses, according to the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessments (RDNAs) carried out in their aftermath.10 The reconstruction and recovery needs were extensive, with estimated costs of Euro 25.9 billion (Euro 17.5 billion for the March earthquake and Euro 8.4 billion for the December earthquake). These recent events highlight the urgent need to proactively manage earthquake risk. This report summarizes the results of a rapid review of earthquake risk and risk management capacity in Croatia, highlighting potential risk management actions and investment opportunities to inform policy dialogue and future research. The review considers capacity across multiple dimensions, including governance, understanding of earthquake risk, risk reduction and mitigation, early warning and public awareness, preparedness and emergency response, recovery and post-disaster financing, and cross-cutting topics such as social resilience and the role of the private sector. For each of these dimensions, the report draws on available information to review the general context and current situation, including key challenges and opportunities for improvement relevant to Croatia.Publication Uganda Economic Update, 25th Edition: Increasing Uganda’s Fiscal Space throughImproved Revenue Mobilization and Enhanced Efficiency of Spending and Service Delivery(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-26) World BankEconomic growth in Uganda remains strong. Real GDP growth accelerated from 6.1 percent in 9M-FY24 to an estimated 6.8 percent in 9M-FY25. This robust performance was mainly driven on the supply side by improvement in the commodity producing sectors as well as in manufacturing. This was particularly notable in pharmaceuticals and construction-related activities, which stood out. In contrast, the services sector recorded a broad-based deceleration. On the demand side, household consumption remained strong and a key contributor to growth, followed by government consumption. Moreover, gross fixed capital formation posted moderate growth, consistent with the rise in construction activity. High frequency indicators continue to support this dynamic growth, reflecting stronger demand, increased new orders, and higher output across sectors.