Economics & Development

This report highlights Uzbekistan’s remarkable progress in reducing poverty and expanding the middle class between 2021 and 2025. Strong growth in household consumption, rising wage employment, and pro-poor income gains reduced the national poverty rate from 17.0 percent to 5.8 percent, lifting approximately 3.7 million people out of poverty. The middle-class share more than doubled, reaching over 72 percent of the population. Sustaining this progress will require expanding access to quality jobs, strengthening women’s economic participation, improving human capital and skills development, reducing regional disparities, enhancing connectivity to economic opportunities, and strengthening targeted social protection systems to support vulnerable households and promote broader economic mobility.

Thailand is progressing toward sustainable and climate resilient development while confronting urbanization pressures, climate and disaster risks, biodiversity conservation needs, and social inclusion challenges including those in conflict affected areas and among refugee communities. In the coming years, the Bank will focus on strengthening resilient transport connectivity alongside ecosystem protection, advancing low carbon urban development and carbon market infrastructure, supporting the phaseout of ozone depleting substances and the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons, and enhancing flood risk management in major river basins. The program will prioritize climate responsive and competitive cities, deepen reforms to the finance and private sector enabling environment, and strengthen social protection delivery systems and data for better policy and service implementation. It will also emphasize community resilience through locally led climate action, digital identification and verifiable credential ecosystems, and platforms for sustainable urban management. Human capital development will be supported through initiatives to measure and foster twenty first century skills, while policy effectiveness in science, research, and innovation will be reviewed to boost productivity and innovation. Complementary efforts will address inclusive economic corridor development and refugee integration to promote social cohesion and equitable access to opportunities. Through a mix of investment operations, advisory services, and reimbursable engagements, and in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation to catalyze private sector solutions, the Bank will help Thailand build a more resilient, inclusive, and low carbon future.