The Global Monitoring Report 2015/2016, produced by the World Bank Group in partnership with the International Monetary Fund, comes at an inflection point in both the setting of global development goals and the demographic trends affecting those goals. This year marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the launching of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while the World Bank Group has in parallel articulated the twin goals of sustainably ending extreme poverty and sharing prosperity. This report presents the latest global poverty numbers, based on the 2011 purchasing power parity (PPP) data, and examines the pace of development progress through the lens of the evolving global development goals. The special theme of this year's report examines the complex interaction between demographic change and development. With the number of children approaching a global ceiling of two billion, the world's population is growing slower. It is also aging faster, with the share of people of working age starting a decline in 2013. But the direction and pace of these trends vary starkly across countries, with sizeable demographic disparities between centers of global poverty (marked by high fertility) and drivers of global growth (marked by rapid aging). These demographic disparities are expected to deeply affect the pursuit of the post-2015 agenda, accentuating existing challenges and creating new opportunities.

The Global Monitoring Report 2014/2015: Ending Poverty and Sharing Prosperity was written jointly by the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund, with substantive inputs from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This year's report details, for the first time, progress toward the WBG's twin goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity and assesses the state of policies and institutions that are important for achieving them. The report continues to monitor progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Also for the first time, the report includes information about high-income countries. It finds that while gaps in living standards have been closing in many countries, the well-being of households in the bottom 40 percent, as measured by the non-income MDGs such as access to education and health services, remains below that of households in the top 60 percent. The focus of this year's report is on three elements needed to make growth more inclusive and sustainable: investment in human capital that favors the poor, the best use of safety nets, and steps to ensure the environmental sustainability of economic growth. These three elements are imperative to all countries' development strategies, and are also fundamental to global efforts to achieve the twin goals, the MDGs, and the Sustainable Development Goals that will succeed the MDGs. Global Monitoring Report 2014/2015 was prepared in collaboration with regional development banks and other multilateral partners.

This publication assesses progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda. It addresses inclusion in education, drawing attention to all those excluded from education, because of background or ability. The report is motivated by the explicit reference to inclusion in the 2015 Incheon Declaration, and the call to ensure an inclusive and equitable quality education in the formulation of SDG 4, the global goal for education. It reminds us that, no matter what argument may be built to the contrary, we have a moral imperative to ensure every child has a right to an appropriate education of high quality.

Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas shows students new to the field how theories (perspectives) of international affairs—realism, liberalism, constructivism (identity), and critical theory—play a decisive role in explaining every-day debates about world affairs. Why, for example, do politicians and political scientists disagree about the causes of the ongoing conflict in Syria, even though they all have the same facts? Or, why do policymakers disagree about how to deal with North Korea when they are all equally well informed? The new Sixth Edition of this best-seller includes updates on Brexit, the rise of Donald Trump and other populist leaders, and continuing developments for ISIS, Syria, and Russia.

The year 2015 was one of global action concerning the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other challenges. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development along with a set of new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will apply universally to all countries. As the MDG experience shows, setting ambitious goals is the first step; achieving them requires concrete actions. This publication reviews economic, social and environmental policies implemented at the national level and the institutional aspects that enabled them, bringing about significant progress towards achieving the MDGs. The Survey draws a set of policy lessons that States will find helpful in formulating strategies and policies for implementing the 2030 Agenda.