2015 is a key year in certain aspects of world development and will be remembered as such. At the end of the year, the time period laid down to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) elapses and Agenda 2030 will come into force, as the world targets its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Setting up the SDG is a challenge that will require investment, new funding sources and a change in the way the world approaches the issue of development, if these goals are to be met.

The 2015 World Bank annual report presents the impact of the World Bank group on development, analysing the activity of two branches of its group, the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which create partnerships with associated countries to put an end to extreme poverty before 2030, to promote shared prosperity and to back the worldwide programme for sustainable development.