Human Capital Project

In this 90-minute event, government leaders, NGO partners, and innovators delivered showcased policy actions and both public and private sector-led responses to address COVID-19 impacts on human capital.

This series of webinars promotes direct learning and exchange among the Focal Points, enabling them to share experience and accelerate human capital outcomes. The live sessions are restricted to participation by the focal points, but afterward, the recordings are shared as a public good.

How are countries investing in people? What tools are available to support human capital development? Access a curated list of reports and briefs here.

Building Human Capital: Lessons from Country Experiences is a series of case studies commissioned by the Human Capital Project team to examine the development trajectories of selected countries that have prioritized investments in key human capital outcomes.

Human capital is central to the World Bank Group’s efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030 and raise the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of people in each country. The vision of the Human Capital Project (HCP) is a world in which all children reach their full potential—growing up well-nourished and ready to learn, attaining real learning in the classroom, and entering the job market as healthy, skilled, and productive adults. The HCP Network now has 78 countries on board and works to support and connect policy makers as they share experiences and best practices, including during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which is a threat to hard-won human capital gains.

This report presents an update to the Human Capital Index (HCI), using the most recent health and education data available as of 2020. It documents new evidence on trends over time in the HCI, examples of success, and new analytical work on utilization of human capital, as well as a primer on the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and its potential impact on human capital. COVID-19 is taking a tremendous toll on lives and economies.

In April 2019, we launched the Africa Human Capital Plan. This ambitious plan sets out clear targets and commitments to boost Africa's potential through its human capital. After just one year, the plan is well underway, helping African countries build momentum by leveraging investments and policy reforms across key sectors, empowering women, developing solutions tailored to the challenges of fragile and conflict-affected settings, mobilizing technology and innovation, and building knowledge and partnerships.