Pakistan must create between 25 million and 30 million jobs over the next decade to transform its rapidly growing youth population into an economic asset, or risk facing instability and rising outward migration, World Bank President Ajay Banga has warned. Speaking during a visit to Pakistan this week, Banga stressed that employment generation must remain the country’s central economic priority as millions of young people enter the workforce each year.
Pakistan is entering the implementation phase of a 10-year Country Partnership Framework agreed with the World Bank last year, while simultaneously working with the International Monetary Fund to stabilise its economy. Despite these engagements, the country continues to face mounting pressure to deliver sustained economic growth and large-scale job creation. Banga said the World Bank Group is shifting its approach from funding isolated projects toward focusing on measurable outcomes, with employment at the core of that strategy. He described job creation as the “North Star” guiding the institution’s engagement with Pakistan.
According to Banga, Pakistan needs to generate between 2.5 million and 3 million jobs annually to absorb its expanding workforce, translating into roughly 25 million to 30 million jobs over the next ten years. Failure to meet this challenge could lead to increased illegal migration and domestic instability, he warned. He added that Pakistan’s population dynamics mean job creation will remain a binding constraint on growth for decades rather than a secondary policy objective, calling it a generational challenge that requires sustained focus and coordination.
Under the Country Partnership Framework, the World Bank Group is committing around $4 billion annually in combined public and private financing. About half of this funding is expected to come from private-sector operations led by the International Finance Corporation. Banga said this reliance on private capital reflects Pakistan’s fiscal limitations and the reality that roughly 90 percent of jobs in the country are created by the private sector rather than the government.
Banga outlined three main pillars underpinning Pakistan’s job creation strategy. These include investment in human and physical infrastructure, regulatory reforms that support business activity, and expanded access to financing and insurance. He emphasized that small firms and farmers, who often lack access to bank credit, must be brought into the financial system to unlock employment potential.
He identified infrastructure development, primary healthcare, tourism, and small-scale agriculture as labour-intensive sectors with strong employment prospects. Agriculture alone, he noted, could account for nearly one-third of the jobs Pakistan needs to create by 2050. He also pointed to the country’s growing pool of freelancers as evidence of entrepreneurial capacity, while noting that limited access to capital, infrastructure, and institutional support prevents many from scaling into businesses that can create jobs.
The urgency of the employment challenge is already evident in the growing emigration of skilled professionals. Nearly 4,000 doctors left Pakistan in 2025, the highest annual outflow on record, according to data cited by Gallup Pakistan based on figures from the Bureau of Emigration. The trend reflects concerns that limited job opportunities and poor working conditions are pushing trained workers abroad.
Banga described reform of Pakistan’s power sector as the most urgent near-term priority, citing persistent losses and inefficiencies in electricity distribution that have constrained growth despite improved generation capacity. Longstanding issues such as weak bill recovery, distribution losses, and delayed subsidies have strained public finances and deterred private investment. He said progress on privatisation and private-sector participation in electricity distribution is critical, while warning that rapid rooftop solar adoption could destabilise the grid if reforms lag.
He also emphasized that climate resilience must be embedded into mainstream development spending rather than treated as a separate agenda. With Pakistan among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, he said resilience should be integrated into infrastructure, housing, water management, and agriculture to support employment while reducing long-term risks.
Asked about Pakistan’s place in the World Bank’s global portfolio, Banga said he views the country not through labels of crisis or fragility, but as a long-term opportunity for job creation. He said the institution’s role is grounded in optimism, adding that the World Bank remains focused on supporting pathways that can turn Pakistan’s demographic pressures into durable economic growth.
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