23 October 2014: The World Bank announced that the International Benchmarking Network (IBNET) ‘Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book 2014′ is now available. The report finds that municipal utilities are better able to withstand the challenges of urbanization.

The report compiles data from 4,400 utilities in 135 countries and territories to analyze operations, norms and outcomes of water utilities. The report includes sections on the: status of the sector; definition of the good utility – the IBNET Apgar and Water Utility Vulnerability Index (WUVI); and an appendix of IBNET indicators by country.

The report concludes that the financial crisis has limited progress since 2008, with service coverage unable to keep up with population growth as investment in the water sector has declined. However, many indicators still show positive improvement, in particular related to water metering, which has become the norm in the sector. [World Bank Press Release] [Publication: IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book 2014]