World Bank Urges Pakistan to Create 30 Million Jobs by 2030 to Avoid Economic Instability

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 has stressed. Pakistan is entering the implementation phase of a 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) deal agreed with the World Bank last year, while also working with the International Monetary Fund to stabilise its economy.

The CPF commits around $4 billion a year in combined public and private financing from the World Bank Group, with roughly half expected to come from private-sector operations led by the International Finance Corporation. Banga said the reliance on private capital reflects a country where the government has limited spending capacity and 90 percent of jobs are created in the private sector.

Pakistan needs to generate 2.5 million to 3 million jobs per year, roughly 25 million to 30 million over the next decade, as millions of young people come of age. Failure to do so could fuel “illegal migration or domestic instability.” Banga described this as a “generational challenge.”

The job strategy rests on three pillars: investment in human and physical infrastructure, business-friendly regulatory reforms, and expanded access to financing and insurance, particularly for small firms and farmers that typically lack bank credit. Infrastructure, primary healthcare, tourism, and small-scale agriculture are labour-intensive sectors with the greatest employment potential; farming alone could account for about one-third of jobs needed by 2050.

A growing pool of freelancers also highlights Pakistan’s appetite for entrepreneurship but they need better access to capital, infrastructure, and support to scale into job-creating businesses. Fixing Pakistan’s power sector is the most urgent near-term priority, Banga said, noting that losses and inefficiencies have limited growth despite improvements in generation capacity.

The strain is readily visible in the exodus of skilled workers: nearly 4,000 doctors emigrated from Pakistan in 2025, according to Gallup data based on Bureau of Emigration figures. This underscores concerns that weak job prospects and poor working conditions are pushing trained professionals abroad.

Rapid rooftop solar adoption will ease energy costs for households and businesses but risks creating grid instability if distribution reforms are not accelerated. “Electricity is fundamental to everything—health, education, business, and jobs,” Banga said.

Banga also stressed the importance of integrating climate-resilient investments into infrastructure, housing, water management, and agriculture to support jobs while reducing long-term risks. He emphasized that viewing climate resilience as a standalone agenda creates a false debate; instead, it should be built into existing development efforts.

Pakistan fits into the World Bank’s global portfolio not through labels such as fragility or crisis but as a long-term job-creation opportunity, Banga said. The world bank does “business of hope” in Pakistan.