This new report shows that while some 80 million people have joined the middle class since 2001, low commodity prices and slow growth in the European Union and the Russian Federation are making it harder for many people to find decent employment or access to basic services such as health and education.

Countries in the Europe and CIS region have been working together actively to find the most effective solutions towards boosting economic growth and eliminating poverty.

Mark Chao is an expert working with UNDP on energy, environment and climate change. We spoke to him briefly about UNDP’s latest plans on creating sustainable cities in Turkmenistan.

A new initiative focused on rural areas of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic has just launched its website. The initiative addresses most pressing developmental issues including electricity shortages during winter, high unemployment rates, gender inequality, severe deforestation problems and high poverty levels.

This year's Regional Human Development Report, released 12 October, will focus on inequalities and human development in Eastern Europe, Turkey, and Central Asia.

[PHOTO ESSAY] In FYR Macedonia, a village is left with mostly elderly and children, as young people are seeking opportunities in cities and other countries.

Nostalgia for the Soviet (or Yugoslav) economic systems is often encountered in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Many of the reasons for this—security, stability, an absence of armed conflict—are not hard to understand. However, many people from these regions—including those who approve of the changes that took hold in the 1990s—also seem to miss the equality in incomes that these systems produced.

To “leave no one behind”, we must measure inequalities – but with what conceptual frameworks? The “elephant” chart above, prepared by Branko Milanovic, shows real incomes received during 1988-2008 (vertical axis) by various shares of the global population (horizontal axis).

In rural Ajara region, farmers are struggling to survive the sharp economic contrast between their urban and rural. The Beridze family runs a successful trout farm - read and see how they are making it work.

UNDP and European Investment Bank (EIB) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at boosting collaboration toward achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

I met BAFTA Award winning director Daniel Mulloy in Prishtina in early 2015. Being deeply concerned by the refugee crisis, Daniel wanted to make a movie that would speak to the West.

A conference sponsored by UNDP, kicked off today in Belgrade, aiming to share lessons on how to cope with large numbers of refugees.

Take a look at a day in the life of Aleko, a visually impaired farmer who runs a berry cooperative in Georgia.

In Armenia, a UNDP initiative that promotes greenhouse farming in disadvantaged regions is tackling gender inequalities while generating livelihoods.