“Pakistan must create up to 30 million jobs over the next decade to turn its youth bulge into an economic dividend or risk instability and outward migration,” World Bank President Ajay Banga said in an interview with Reuters, warning that employment generation has become the country’s defining economic test.
Pakistan is entering the implementation phase of a 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) agreed with the World Bank last year, even as it works with the International Monetary Fund to stabilise its economy. Despite these efforts, the pressure on Islamabad to deliver steady growth and absorb a rapidly expanding workforce remains intense.
Speaking during a visit to Karachi this week, Banga said the World Bank Group is reorienting its approach away from narrow project delivery towards measurable impact on people’s lives. “We’re trying to move the bank group as a whole from the idea of projects to the idea of outcomes,” he said. “Job creation is the North Star.”
According to Banga, Pakistan needs to generate between 2.5 million and 3 million jobs annually over the next decade as millions of young people enter the labour market. If employment opportunities fail to keep pace, the country could see rising domestic instability or increased illegal migration. Given Pakistan’s demographic profile, he said job creation will remain the central constraint on long-term growth rather than a secondary policy concern. “This is a generational challenge,” he added.
Under the CPF, the World Bank Group has committed about $4 billion a year in combined public and private financing, with roughly half expected from private-sector operations led by the International Finance Corporation. Banga said the emphasis on private capital reflects limited fiscal space and the reality that about 90 per cent of jobs in Pakistan are generated by the private sector.
He outlined a three-part strategy centred on investment in human and physical infrastructure, regulatory reforms that make it easier to do business, and wider access to finance and insurance, especially for small firms and farmers who often lack bank credit. Infrastructure, primary healthcare, tourism and small-scale agriculture were identified as sectors with strong employment potential. Farming alone, he said, could account for nearly one-third of the jobs Pakistan needs by 2050.
The strain from weak job prospects is already visible. Nearly 4,000 doctors emigrated from Pakistan in 2025, the highest annual outflow on record, according to Gallup Pakistan data based on Bureau of Emigration figures.
Banga also pointed to the power sector as an urgent priority. Losses in electricity distribution, weak bill recovery and delayed subsidies have weighed on public finances and discouraged investment. Progress on privatisation and private participation in distribution, he said, would be key to restoring financial health and supporting growth. At the same time, rapid rooftop solar adoption could create grid risks if reforms lag.
Climate resilience, Banga said, should be built into core development spending. With Pakistan highly exposed to floods, heatwaves and erratic monsoons, resilient infrastructure, housing and agriculture can support jobs while reducing long-term risks.
Asked about Pakistan’s place in the World Bank’s global portfolio, Banga rejected crisis labels. “We’re in the business of hope,” he said.
