2025: A Year Of Unexpected Resilience, Unfolding Power Of Jobs—World Bank Report

By Roland Ogbonnaya–

In a year marked by a relentless barrage of economic shocks, geopolitical instability, and the increasing severity of climate-driven disasters, the world economy in 2025 demonstrated surprising and robust resilience.

While initial forecasts painted a grim picture of slowing growth and mounting debt, developing nations, in particular, defied expectations by adapting and innovating at a pace that surpassed predictions.

Central to this narrative of unexpected progress was the World Bank Group’s declared mission: a concerted year-long focus on job creation as the indispensable engine for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and future prosperity.

The year 2025 opened with a palpable sense of unease. The lingering effects of global conflicts, persistent economic uncertainty, and a quagmire of policy hesitations cast a long shadow. Trade frictions continued to strain international relations, and concerns about the persistent debt burden on developing economies remained significant.

For the third consecutive year, these nations found themselves allocating more funds to debt servicing than they were receiving in fresh financing, a trend that reached a 50-year high during the 2022–2024 period.

This outflow of capital represented a significant impediment to their development trajectories, draining crucial resources that could have been invested in vital infrastructure, social services, and job creation.

However, as the year unfolded, a more nuanced picture emerged. Despite these formidable headwinds, the global economy exhibited remarkable adaptability.

The pessimism that had gripped markets began to recede as bond markets cautiously reopened, offering a lifeline to indebted nations and easing pressure on interest rates.

This gradual easing of financial conditions, coupled with a noticeable decrease in trade-policy uncertainty and a welcome stabilisation in energy markets, provided essential breathing room for economies navigating turbulent waters.

Forecasters who had initially projected a tepid growth rate of around 2.7 per cent found that their predictions held broadly true by year’s end, a testament to an underlying strength that had been underestimated.

The driving forces behind this unexpected buoyancy were multifaceted. Supply chains, once viewed as fixed, underwent rapid recalibration and diversification, enabling businesses to circumvent bottlenecks and access new markets.

Perhaps most significantly, the swift and widespread adoption of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), injected a potent dose of efficiency and innovation across sectors.

These advancements, combined with a conscious effort by nations to diversify their trade relationships, created a more resilient global economic architecture than had been envisioned at the beginning of the year.

Against this backdrop of global economic recalibration, the World Bank Group declared 2025 as its “Year of Jobs.” This was not merely a slogan; it represented a fundamental shift in development strategy, placing meaningful employment at the very heart of its global efforts.

The organisation recognised that jobs are not simply means to an end, but the bedrock upon which individual dignity, societal stability, and economic self-sufficiency are built.

The urgency of this focus was underscored by a demographic tidal wave. The report highlighted that over the next decade, a staggering 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will enter the workforce.

This demographic dividend holds immense potential to catalyse global economic growth, but also presents a critical challenge. A failure to generate sufficient opportunities could fuel widespread instability, social unrest, and potentially mass migration, with far-reaching implications for every nation and region.

“Jobs are not only the surest path out of poverty but also provide dignity, hope, and stability,” the report emphasised. “They build self-sufficient economies, reduce humanitarian needs, and drive demand for goods, helping to ensure that development is both sustainable and thriving.”

The World Bank Group’s job creation strategy focused on five key sectors with demonstrably high potential to generate employment and foster vibrant, homegrown economies: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and manufacturing. These were not envisioned as isolated initiatives, but as interconnected components of a comprehensive vision for sustainable development.

Reliable and affordable energy is the lifeblood of any developing economy. It fuels businesses, powers essential services, and is fundamental to job creation.

The report underscored the acute need in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 600 million people still lack access to electricity.

In response, the World Bank Group, in partnership with the African Development Bank, launched Mission 300, an ambitious initiative aimed at connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

The impact of Mission 300 in its inaugural year was significant. Thirty-two million people gained access to electricity, with connection rates accelerating to 1.5 times previous levels.

Twenty-nine African governments embraced the initiative by launching Energy Compacts, signalling a commitment to vital reforms and ambitious targets, thereby creating a fertile ground for transforming their energy sectors.

Agriculture remains a critical pillar of employment and food security, particularly in developing countries where it accounts for 40 per cent of jobs.

However, many of the world’s smallholder farmers, who produce the majority of global food, remain trapped in poverty due to limited access to markets, finance, and modern technology. With a projected 30 per cent increase in global food demand by 2050, addressing these constraints is paramount.

This year saw the launch of AgriConnect, an initiative designed to empower smallholder farmers, transform agricultural practices, and bolster global food security.

By facilitating increased financing, connecting producers to markets, and equipping farmers with digital tools like small-scale AI, AgriConnect aims to help farmers transition from subsistence to surplus.

This endeavour is underpinned by a significant pledge from the World Bank Group to double its yearly investment in agribusiness to $9 billion by 2030 and mobilise an additional $5 billion.

Early results are promising, as existing World Bank Group projects are already enhancing food security for 201 million people—a figure expected to reach over 327 million by 2030.

Good health is intrinsically linked to economic productivity and overall well-being. Access to quality healthcare empowers individuals to work, learn, and contribute to their communities. Investing in health systems not only directly creates jobs in clinics and hospitals but also stimulates growth in related industries such as manufacturing, technology, and pharmaceuticals.

The World Bank Group set an ambitious goal of delivering quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030. Partnerships were central to achieving this goal, as exemplified by the Universal Health Coverage High-Level Forum in Tokyo, where 15 countries committed to National Health Compacts, with philanthropies pledging $410 million in support.

The World Bank Group also announced aligned financing with Gavi and the Global Fund, including $2 billion co-financed with each institution. Since the target was set, 375 million people have benefited from quality, affordable care, and efforts are underway with approximately 45 countries to scale up proven primary care approaches that simultaneously improve health outcomes and generate employment.

The tourism sector offers immense potential for developing economies to create inclusive jobs, foster innovative businesses, and finance the conservation of natural and cultural heritage.

It also empowers significant economic opportunities, particularly for women, who constitute over half of the tourism workforce. In 2024, travel and tourism contributed roughly 10 per cent of global GDP and supported an estimated 357 million jobs—an increase projected to grow by approximately 91 million by 2035, with much of this growth occurring in urban centres.

The World Bank Group actively supports sustainable, community-based tourism. In India, the Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project successfully created nearly 3,000 jobs and boosted local incomes.

In Madagascar, projects involving $450 million in lending and technical assistance revitalised the tourism sector, improving infrastructure and services, leading to the creation of over 10,000 jobs and the registration of more than 30,000 businesses.

Manufacturing is a powerful engine for economic growth and modernisation, producing essential goods and reducing reliance on imports. It also provides a crucial pathway for individuals, especially women, to transition from informal to secure formal employment across various skill levels.

Led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group is actively supporting the expansion of manufacturing in emerging economies through financing and expert guidance.

This focus on strengthening local supply chains is directly spurring job growth. Over the past six years, IFC’s long-term financing for manufacturing has more than doubled, reaching $4.1 billion in the last fiscal year.

As of June 2025, manufacturing projects supported nearly 520,000 jobs, with 180,000 of these for women, generating substantial domestic purchases and government revenue.

The report underscored a critical realisation: achieving these ambitious job creation goals requires more than just public sector investment.

The full mobilisation of the private sector is indispensable. The World Bank Group is actively working to dismantle barriers to investment and create an environment where private capital can deliver meaningful development impacts.

Evidence of this mobilisation was strong in 2025. Private capital mobilisation (PCM) saw a significant increase, rising from $47 billion to $67 billion in just two years.

Total commitments, including PCM, reached $186 billion, complemented by $79 billion raised from private investors through bond issuances.

The World Bank Group is also strategically expanding its guarantee business, aiming to triple it by 2030, with a centralised platform within the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to streamline operations and enhance issuances.

While acknowledging the persistence of financial and other risks, 2025 served as a potent reminder of the inherent resilience of nations.

For the third consecutive year, the global economy outperformed expectations, a testament to the power of adaptation, investment, and collaboration.

The work ahead hinges on deepening this foundation of resilience, embracing fiscally responsible policies, and fostering trust.

As the world looks toward 2026, the World Bank Group remains steadfast in its commitment to a new paradigm: “smart development.”

This approach is rooted in resilience, fiscal responsibility, and trust, with job creation as its central tenet. The “Year of Jobs” may have concluded, but the tangible, measurable, and transformative results of this focused mission are poised to unfold in the years to come, laying the groundwork for a more secure and prosperous future for all.