World Bank warns 800 million jobs could be missing for young workers
World Bank President Ajay Banga warned at the institution’s 2026 Annual Meetings that 1.2 billion young people in developing countries are expected to reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 400 million jobs are projected. He called for governments, development institutions and private investors to combine financing, infrastructure and regulatory reform to expand employment.
Bottom line — Banga says the 800 million-job gap is a projection, not an inevitable outcome.
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The World Bank’s five priority sectors are infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing.
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Banga said conflicts, debt burdens, limited government budgets and higher energy and fertiliser costs are making job creation harder.
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The World Bank says it cut project preparation from 19 months to nine and reduced its performance indicators from 153 to 22.
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According to the World Bank, private capital mobilisation rose from about €32 billion ($35 billion) in fiscal 2022 to €103 billion ($112 billion) last year.
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Banga said mobilisation in low-income economies remained around €2.8 billion ($3 billion), despite the overall increase.
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The World Bank said 59 million Africans had gained electricity access through Mission 300, which targets connections for 300 million people by 2030.
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Banga argued that smaller, practical AI applications could help farmers, teachers and entrepreneurs, rather than relying only on advanced AI systems.