Background
Kohima, the capital, draws visitors every December for the Hornbill Festival held at Kisama on its outskirts, which makes the State's administrative map a current reference point.
The Government of Nagaland portal lists 17 districts: Chumoukedima, Dimapur, Kiphire, Kohima, Longleng, Meluri, Mokokchung, Mon, Niuland, Noklak, Peren, Phek, Shamator, Tseminyu, Tuensang, Wokha and Zunheboto.
Kohima, at 1,444 m, is the capital, and Dimapur is the commercial centre, carrying the State's railhead and airport.
Nagaland covers 16,579 sq km and had a population of 19,78,502 in the 2011 Census.
English is the official language of the State.
The portal lists 17 tribes: Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Kachari, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Kuki, Lotha, Phom, Pochury, Rengma, Sangtam, Sumi, Tikhir, Yimkhiung and Zeliang.
The Directorate of Information and Public Relations gives a population density of 119 persons per sq km, a sex ratio of 931 females per 1,000 males and a literacy rate of 79.55 per cent.
Districts:
17
Area:
16,579 sq km
Population (2011 Census):
19,78,502
Capital altitude:
Kohima, 1,444 m
Sex ratio:
931 females per 1,000 males
Literacy:
79.55 per cent
Why it matters for exams: District counts, capitals and census figures for the north-eastern States are repeat objective questions in both Kerala PSC and UPSC prelims.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Railhead Railhead — The point where a rail line ends and goods move on by road.
10 October 2026
INSEE's provisional estimate for September 2026 puts French consumer price inflation at +3.0 per cent year on year, after +2.4 per cent in August. The harmonised index (HICP) is up 3.4 per cent, after 2.6 per cent in August. Energy prices are estimated to have risen 21.2 per cent year on year, against 16.7 per cent in August. Food prices are estimated up 1.5 per cent, with fresh produce up 9.9 per cent. INSEE says the final results will be published on 15 October 2026.
CPI, year on year:
+3.0%
HICP, year on year:
+3.4%
Energy:
+21.2%
Final results due:
15 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: CPI versus HICP and the role of national statistical offices appear often in economy and banking exams.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
HICP Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices — The EU-standard consumer price measure that lets inflation be compared across member states.
Background
Background to Mizoram's literacy: the Chakma Autonomous District Council has resolved that a literacy programme be undertaken in a coordinated manner, subject to its Executive Committee's decision and availability of funds, and the state itself has been declared fully literate.
Chief Minister Lalduhoma declared Mizoram fully literate at a function in Aizawl.
Full literacy is defined by the Ministry of Education as above 95 per cent; the PFLS 2023-24 literacy rate was 98.20 per cent.
A door-to-door survey identified 3,026 non-literates, and 292 volunteer teachers led the effort under ULLAS (New India Literacy Programme).
Full-literacy threshold:
Above 95 per cent
PFLS 2023-24 literacy rate:
98.20 per cent
Non-literates identified:
3,026
Volunteer teachers:
292
Why it matters for exams: Full-literacy declarations, the 95 per cent benchmark and the ULLAS scheme are recurring education and states topics.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ULLAS Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme) — The adult-literacy programme under which Mizoram's volunteer teachers worked.
Background
The International Development Association, or IDA, is a part of the World Bank that supports low-income countries with grants and concessional loans.
It was established in 1960 and serves 78 countries, where it is the largest provider of essential social services.
Thirty-five countries no longer borrow from IDA, and when a borrowing country later returns as a donor that is treated as a milestone for IDA.
The World Bank Group is made up of five institutions: IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID.
IDA combines financing with knowledge and research to help countries reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth and improve living conditions.
Countries served by IDA:
78
Countries that no longer borrow from IDA:
35
Institutions in the World Bank Group:
5
Why it matters for exams: Examiners ask which arm of the World Bank Group lends on concessional terms to the poorest countries, and expect the five institutions of the Group to be named.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
IDA International Development Association — The World Bank arm that gives grants and concessional loans to low-income countries.
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — The oldest institution of the World Bank Group, which lends to middle-income and creditworthy governments.
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency — The World Bank Group arm that offers guarantees against non-commercial risk to investors.
10 October 2026
New orders in German manufacturing fell 10.6% in August 2026 compared with July 2026, in real terms and seasonally and calendar adjusted, Destatis said on 6 October 2026. Excluding large-scale orders the fall was only 0.1%, and orders were still 2.7% above August 2025. Destatis said the decline was almost entirely attributable to the sharp decline in the manufacture of other transport equipment, which fell 61.5% after an unusually large volume of big orders for ships, rail rolling stock and aircraft had more than doubled that sector in July. Capital goods orders fell 15.3%, consumer goods 7.3% and intermediate goods 2.6%. Domestic orders were down 17.3% and foreign orders 5.4%.
New orders, August 2026 (month on month):
-10.6%
Excluding large-scale orders:
-0.1%
Year on year:
+2.7%
Other transport equipment:
-61.5%
Domestic orders:
-17.3%
Why it matters for exams: Factory orders are a leading indicator of industrial output, and the large-order distortion is a good lesson in reading statistics.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Capital goods Capital goods — Machinery, equipment and vehicles bought by firms to produce other goods.
10 October 2026
Destatis reported on 8 October 2026 that German exports in August 2026 were 137.6 billion euros, down 0.8% on July 2026 but 6.2% higher than in August 2025. These are provisional figures, calendar and seasonally adjusted. Imports came to 118.1 billion euros, up 0.9% on the month and 5.5% on the year. The foreign trade balance thus showed a surplus of 19.5 billion euros in August 2026, against 21.6 billion euros in July 2026 and 17.6 billion euros in August 2025. Without calendar and seasonal adjustment, exports were 123.4 billion euros, imports 108.4 billion euros and the surplus 15.0 billion euros. Exports to the European Union were 77.5 billion euros. Exports to the United States fell 6.3% on the month to 13.5 billion euros, though they were 22.6% above August 2025. Imports from China rose 11.0% on the month to 16.8 billion euros.
Exports, August 2026:
137.6 billion euros
Imports, August 2026:
118.1 billion euros
Trade surplus:
19.5 billion euros
Exports to the EU:
77.5 billion euros
Imports from China:
16.8 billion euros
Why it matters for exams: Germany is Europe's biggest exporter, and its trade surplus is a recurring question on world economy and balance of trade.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Trade balance Balance of merchandise trade — Exports minus imports of goods; a positive figure is a trade surplus.
10 October 2026
Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) put the country's inflation rate at +3.3% year on year in September 2026, on provisional figures. Consumer prices rose +0.6% on the previous month. Energy prices were +14.9% higher than a year earlier, while food prices rose only +0.4%. Core inflation, measured without food and energy, stood at +2.4%. The same headline rate applies to the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), the measure the European Central Bank watches for euro area countries. Germany is the euro area's largest economy, so its price data feed directly into ECB rate thinking.
Inflation rate, September 2026:
+3.3%
Month on month:
+0.6%
Energy prices:
+14.9%
Food prices:
+0.4%
Core inflation:
+2.4%
Why it matters for exams: Euro area inflation figures and the HICP are standard economy questions in UPSC and bank examinations.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
HICP Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices — The common price index used to compare inflation across European Union member states.
Destatis Statistisches Bundesamt (Federal Statistical Office) — Germany's central official statistics agency, based in Wiesbaden.
10 October 2026
The World Health Organization observes World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2026 with the theme 'Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change'. The theme asks governments to place people who have themselves lived with mental health conditions at the centre of policy, law and service design. WHO's campaign page draws on survey data from its Mental Health Atlas 2024. Only 9 per cent of countries have fully moved from institution-based to community-based mental health care, while 53 per cent are in the early stages of that shift. Some 49 per cent of reported psychiatric hospital admissions are involuntary and 23 per cent of hospital stays last longer than a year. Where countries do have a mental health policy or plan, 80 per cent developed it in consultation with people with lived experience, but only 37 per cent involve them in training primary health care workers.
Date:
10 October 2026
Theme:
Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change
Countries fully shifted to community-based care:
9%
Involuntary psychiatric admissions:
49%
Hospital stays longer than a year:
23%
Why it matters for exams: World Mental Health Day themes and WHO Mental Health Atlas figures are standard material for health and social-sector questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Mental Health Atlas WHO Mental Health Atlas — WHO's periodic country-by-country stocktaking of mental health policies, services and spending.
10 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India released Working Paper No. 01/2026, titled 'Data Gaps in State-Level Inflation: An Assessment for the Covid Period', on October 9, 2026.
It is written by Purnima Shaw and R. K. Sinha.
Official State-wise CPI inflation data are missing for four pandemic months, namely April and May 2020 and April and May 2021.
The authors use the granular data of the Reserve Bank's Inflation Expectations Survey of Households, which continued on a bimonthly basis during the pandemic, to estimate State-wise CPI-U inflation for those four months.
The estimates combine urban consumers' inflation perceptions, their three-months-ahead inflation expectations and past realised State-wise CPI-U inflation.
When aggregated, the State-wise estimates closely follow the all-India official CPI inflation series.
The paper argues that such estimates can support future research using State-level inflation time series, since State-wise inflation data matter under India's inflation-targeting framework.
Paper:
RBI Working Paper No. 01/2026
Authors:
Purnima Shaw and R. K. Sinha
Missing months:
April and May 2020, April and May 2021
Survey used:
Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH)
Why it matters for exams: The paper links two examinable ideas, the CPI series and the Reserve Bank's Inflation Expectations Survey of Households, under the inflation-targeting framework.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
CPI Consumer Price Index — The retail price index whose combined all-India inflation rate is the Reserve Bank's nominal anchor under inflation targeting.
IESH Inflation Expectations Survey of Households — A bimonthly Reserve Bank survey of urban households on their perception of current inflation and their expectations for the months ahead.
10 October 2026
The Union Health Ministry is observing World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2026 with the theme 'Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change'.
Tele-MANAS, the free round-the-clock counselling helpline on 14416, was launched on 10 October 2022.
As of October 2026 it had received about 47.75 lakh calls, that is 47,75,644 calls, through 53 operational cells spread across all 36 States and Union Territories.
In recorded caller profiles, women accounted for 43.78% and men for 54.18%, and people aged 18 to 45 made up 73.2% of callers.
The District Mental Health Programme has been sanctioned in 767 districts, and mental health services have been integrated into over 1.83 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
MANN Jaagriti, a community awareness initiative, is being run to reduce stigma and encourage early help-seeking.
These efforts sit within the National Mental Health Programme.
Theme 2026:
Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change
Tele-MANAS helpline:
14416, launched 10 October 2022
Calls received:
about 47.75 lakh (47,75,644)
Tele-MANAS cells:
53 across all 36 States and UTs
District Mental Health Programme:
sanctioned in 767 districts
Why it matters for exams: The Tele-MANAS helpline number, its launch date and the district coverage of the mental health programme are standard health scheme questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Tele-MANAS Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States — A national tele-mental health service offering free counselling on a toll free number in several languages.
9 October 2026
WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record published 'Elimination of human onchocerciasis: progress report, 2025–2026' on 9 October 2026. In 2025, 255.7 million people required preventive chemotherapy and 180.3 million were treated, a global coverage of 70.5%. This is described as the highest number of people ever treated for onchocerciasis in a single year. Ivermectin mass drug administration has stopped in 310 implementation units. About 38 million people no longer need preventive chemotherapy, mostly in Nigeria (28.0 million), Uganda, Ethiopia and Mali. Angola, Gabon and Sudan did not implement mass drug administration in 2025.
People treated in 2025:
180.3 million
Global coverage:
70.5%
People requiring preventive chemotherapy:
255.7 million
Implementation units where ivermectin MDA stopped:
310
Why it matters for exams: Neglected tropical disease elimination and WHO data are frequent in health and current-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MDA Mass drug administration — Giving a medicine to a whole at-risk community, here ivermectin.
9 October 2026
Brazil's national statistics institute IBGE reported that the IPCA, the country's official consumer price index, rose 0.82 per cent in September.
The 12-month accumulated rate reached 4.58 per cent.
The index has risen 3.95 per cent so far in 2026.
Housing was the group with the largest increase, at 2.31 per cent, contributing 0.35 percentage point to the month's result.
Residential electricity rose 7.98 per cent in September.
Fernando Gonçalves is the manager of the IPCA at IBGE.
IPCA, September:
0.82%
Accumulated over 12 months:
4.58%
Accumulated in 2026:
3.95%
Housing group:
2.31%
Residential electricity:
7.98%
Why it matters for exams: Brazil's IPCA is the inflation measure the Banco Central do Brasil targets, so its monthly figure is a standard economy question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IPCA Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo — Brazil's official broad consumer price index, compiled by IBGE.
IBGE Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística — Brazil's national institute of geography and statistics, its census and price-index agency.
9 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India announced on 9 October 2026 that it has launched the 75th round of its Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey, known as OBICUS.
The reference period of this round is July to September 2026, the second quarter of 2026-27.
The Reserve Bank has been conducting OBICUS of the manufacturing sector on a quarterly basis since 2008.
The survey collects new orders received during the reference quarter, the backlog of orders at the beginning of the quarter, pending orders at the end of the quarter, and total inventories with a break-up between finished goods, work-in-progress and raw material.
It also collects item-wise production in quantity and value against installed capacity, and the reasons for changes in production or installed capacity. The level of capacity utilisation is estimated from these responses.
Selected manufacturing companies are approached by the Bank, and other manufacturing companies may take part by downloading the questionnaire from the Reserve Bank's website. Company level data are treated as confidential and never disclosed.
The survey is run by the Division of Enterprise Surveys, Department of Statistics and Information Management, and provides input for monetary policy formulation.
Round:
75th
Reference period:
July - September 2026 (Q2:2026-27)
Conducted since:
2008, quarterly
Sector covered:
Manufacturing
Why it matters for exams: Bank and civil services papers regularly ask which Reserve Bank survey measures capacity utilisation, its round number and its reference quarter.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
OBICUS Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey — A quarterly Reserve Bank survey of manufacturing firms from which capacity utilisation is estimated.
Capacity utilisation Capacity utilisation — The share of installed production capacity that a factory actually uses.
9 October 2026
World trade reached a record $35 trillion in 2025, the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said on Friday 9 October 2026. UNCTAD said developing countries were held back from greater participation in the global economy because of new technological and policy barriers. Senior UNCTAD official Anastasia Nesvetailova said only a fraction of investment by companies is now driven by traditional concerns such as low labour costs, and that value is moving into strategic sectors, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy and advanced computing, where the barriers to entry are high and rising. The agency identified increasing export controls, investment screening and supply-chain pre-conditions as the reasons why strategic sectors were harder for developing countries to access. Higher trade values this year continue to be driven by price hikes linked to the global energy shock caused by the US-Iran war. Trade between China and the United States has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 2024, while East Asian countries have expanded their trade links with both China and North America. UNCTAD said Asia will contribute 60 per cent of global growth this year.
World trade in 2025:
$35 trillion
Fall in China-United States trade since 2024:
more than 20 per cent
Asia's contribution to global growth this year:
60 per cent
Why it matters for exams: A single headline figure for world trade plus the shift of trade away from the China-United States corridor is the kind of report detail that appears in economy and index questions.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development — The UN body that works on trade, investment and development, based in Geneva.
Export controls Export controls — Government restrictions on selling certain goods or technologies abroad.
9 October 2026
The National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, released draft guidelines for compiling expenditure-side estimates of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) with base year 2022-23.
The guidelines cover concepts, coverage, data sources, estimation procedures and methodology for the expenditure components of GSDP.
The components covered are private final consumption expenditure (PFCE), government final consumption expenditure (GFCE), gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), changes in inventories, valuables and net exports.
Some States and Union Territories currently estimate GFCF and GFCE, but none estimates PFCE at present. The draft provides a framework and methodological guidance for these estimates at State and Union Territory level.
Where direct State-level data are not available, the draft recommends allocation methods and relevant indicators so that State-wise estimates remain comparable.
Comments and suggestions may be sent by 28 October 2026. The draft is available on the MoSPI website.
Base year:
2022-23
Last date for comments:
28 October 2026
Issuing body:
National Statistical Office, MoSPI
Why it matters for exams: GSDP, its base year and the expenditure method of national accounting are standard economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GSDP Gross State Domestic Product — The total value of goods and services produced within a State in a year.
PFCE Private Final Consumption Expenditure — Spending by households and non-profit institutions on final goods and services.
9 October 2026
A new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime describes a booming illicit market in medicines in Central Africa.
From 2020 through 2025, authorities seized 251 tonnes of medical products in Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic and Chad.
Annual seizures rose from about five tonnes in 2020 to nearly 116 tonnes in 2024, before exceeding 97 tonnes in 2025.
Cameroon accounted for nearly all the seizures recorded in 2025, with 96 tonnes intercepted, compared with just 2.5 tonnes five years earlier.
The products ranged from antibiotics, antimalarial and anti-inflammatory drugs to painkillers and psychoactive substances such as tramadol and pregabalin.
Sylvie Bertrand, UNODC's regional representative for West and Central Africa, said the report outlines a multimodal trafficking system using maritime, riverine, air and road routes.
The report was produced with the World Health Organization and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa.
The UN cautioned that larger seizures can reflect both greater trafficking and more aggressive enforcement.
Seized, 2020 to 2025:
251 tonnes
Countries covered:
Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Chad
Seizures in 2024:
nearly 116 tonnes
Cameroon in 2025:
96 tonnes
Partners:
WHO and CEMAC
Why it matters for exams: UNODC, CEMAC and the problem of falsified and diverted medicines appear in health governance and international organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime — The UN office for drugs and crime, run from Vienna.
CEMAC Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa — A regional economic and monetary union of six Central African states.
9 October 2026
The UN migration agency IOM has warned that Djibouti is facing overlapping emergencies as refugees fleeing the conflict in Yemen arrive on its shores while migrants continue to travel in the opposite direction.
More than 3,700 refugees have reached the Horn of Africa nation in the past three weeks after a dangerous crossing of the Red Sea, said Alexandre Coissac, head of IOM's mission in the country, briefing journalists in Geneva by video link.
IOM has recorded more than 20,000 journeys made from Ethiopia since 10 September by migrants heading for Yemen in the hope of finding work in the Gulf.
Another 539 Ethiopian migrants have arrived from Yemen on their way home.
Between 20 and 30 September, more than 3,000 stranded migrants were observed along migratory routes in Djibouti, facing dehydration, exhaustion and shortages of food and water.
Coissac said most migrants bound for Yemen were unaware of the grave situation there as fighting between Government and Houthi forces intensifies.
He called for more support for new arrivals, migrants in distress and host communities in Obock.
Refugees arrived in three weeks:
More than 3,700
Journeys from Ethiopia since 10 September:
more than 20,000
Ethiopian migrants returning from Yemen:
539
Stranded migrants, 20-30 September:
more than 3,000
Why it matters for exams: The Horn of Africa migration route, the Bab al-Mandab crossing and IOM's mandate are standard questions on world geography and migration.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IOM International Organization for Migration — The UN agency for migration, headquartered in Geneva.
Horn of Africa Horn of Africa — The eastern projection of Africa comprising Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
9 October 2026
Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls, presented a report to the General Assembly on violence against older women.
She said older women face violence, exploitation and neglect yet remain largely invisible in the laws, policies, data and services designed to protect women overall.
An estimated 664 million women were aged 60 or older in 2025, a number projected to reach 1.13 billion by 2050.
The report treats violence against older women as a distinct and intersectional issue rooted in discrimination, ageism and inequality.
It identifies physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence as well as coercive control, neglect, abandonment and technology-facilitated violence.
It also records exploitation of pensions and property, digital exclusion, denial of healthcare or assistive devices and barriers to reporting and justice.
Widows, migrant and stateless women, rural women, women with disabilities and women in institutional care are identified as particularly at risk.
Special Rapporteur:
Reem Alsalem
Women aged 60 or older, 2025:
664 million
Projected for 2050:
1.13 billion
Reported to:
UN General Assembly
Why it matters for exams: Special Rapporteurs, their reporting line to the General Assembly and ageing demographics are all exam staples.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Special Rapporteur Special Rapporteur — An independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to report on a theme or a country.
Ageism Ageism — Discrimination against a person on the ground of age.
9 October 2026
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told a high-level dialogue on reparatory justice in Geneva that the legacy of enslavement and colonialism continues to shape the lives of Africans and people of African descent.
Over 30 million people were violently uprooted from Africa and condemned to a life of slavery, he said, and no country involved in enslavement or colonialism has fully confronted that past.
He said the transatlantic trade was an organised system of domination that treated tens of millions of African men, women and children as commodities.
In some regions police are several times more likely to use force against people of African descent, and people of the diaspora are disproportionately represented in prisons.
Turk warned that artificial intelligence and other technologies are already reproducing human biases and could deepen systemic racism.
He said reparatory justice should not be understood as financial compensation alone, but should include truth-telling, formal apologies, memorials and restitution of cultural artefacts.
Many countries still lack anti-racism legislation and fewer than one in four have comprehensive anti-discrimination law.
Speaker:
Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Venue:
High-level dialogue on reparatory justice, Geneva
People uprooted from Africa:
Over 30 million
Countries with comprehensive anti-discrimination law:
fewer than one in four
Why it matters for exams: Reparatory justice, OHCHR and the mandate of the High Commissioner for Human Rights appear in both PSC and UPSC international organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights — The UN human rights office, based in Geneva and headed by the High Commissioner.
Reparatory justice Reparatory justice — Measures to repair the harms of enslavement and colonialism, going beyond money to apologies, memorials and restitution.
9 October 2026
The World Bank's country overview for Russia states that growth is projected to remain at around 1% during 2026 and 2027.
The overview links the projection to the Bank's Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, listed as October 2026.
The same overview gives an average of 1.3% for 2025 and 2026 taken together.
Russia is classified by the World Bank among high-income economies.
The World Bank is one of the Bretton Woods institutions founded in 1944.
Projected growth:
around 1% during 2026-2027
Average for 2025 and 2026:
1.3%
Report:
Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, October 2026
Why it matters for exams: Growth projections for major economies from the World Bank are asked directly in economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ECA Economic Update Europe and Central Asia Economic Update — The World Bank's twice-yearly regional report on economies in Europe and Central Asia.