The World Bank gathers a wide range of social and economic data to improve understanding of the challenges faced in each of the countries it assists.

Caribbean Countries Pool Risks Ahead of 2007 Hurricane Season

Crime, Violence and
Development: trends, Costs and policy options in the Caribbean

Country brief
Unlike its Central American neighbors, the majority of Belize's 290,000 citizens speak English, with smaller groups speaking Creole, Spanish and several indigenous dialects

Caribbean Community and U.S. deepen their relations at historic Conference on the Caribbean co-hosted by the World Bank, the IDB and theCaribbean Community and U.S. deepen their relations at historic Conference on the Caribbean co-hosted by the World Bank, the IDB and the OAS. OAS.

This Sourcebook aims to support efforts by countries to strengthen the role of the education sector in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

he Development Communication Sourcebook shows why the field of development communication is important and how its tools and methods enhance long-term and sustainable results. The book presents basic concepts and explains key challenges faced in daily practice. Each of the four modules is self-contained, with examples, toolboxes, and more.

This titel provides a new perspective on getting finance in South Asia, helping improve our understanding of the financial systems in South Asian countries. It includes indicators on access to finance, performance and efficiency, stability, corporate governance, capital market developments, and market concentration and competitiveness.

The Sourcebook draws on a wide range of experience from World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and other donor agencies, governments, institutions, and groups active in agricultural development.

Developing countries need additional, cross-border capital channeled into their private sectors to generate employment and growth, reduce poverty, and meet the other Millennium Development Goals. Innovative Financing for Development is the first book on this subject that uses a market-based approach.

Banking the Poor studies the use of financial services in 54, mostly poor, countries, and ways to expand financial access.

The World Bank's World Trade Indicators (WTI) database on the CD-ROM included in this book provides more than 300 performance indicators measuring at-the-border and behind-the-border country trade policy, institutions, and outcomes from 1995 to 2007.

Doing Business 2009 measures regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business for 181 economies: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.

The result of two years work by 19 experienced policymakers and two Nobel prize-winning economists, the Growth Report is the most complete analysis to date of the ingredients which, if used in the right country-specific recipe, can deliver growth and help lift populations out of poverty.