2025: Resilient Economies, Smart Development, and More Jobs

World Bank

This year saw countries grapple with a cascade of shocks and economic turbulence, from ongoing conflicts and economic uncertainty to catastrophic weather that tested communities. Yet in the face of these challenges, nations proved far more resilient and adaptive in 2025 than predicted. 

The year saw wild swings in the global economy. Initial optimism shifted to widespread pessimism as countries confronted slowing global growth, geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainties, rising trade frictions, and persistent debt. For the third year in a row, developing economies paid more in debt service than they received in new financing, hitting a 50-year high in debt outflows during 2022-2024.  

Despite these major challenges, the global economy performed better than many had expected, particularly in developing countries. Global growth surpassed forecasts even amid tariffs and trade tensions, with some relief as bond markets reopened, and interest rates began to ease. Decreasing trade-policy uncertainty and stable energy markets also contributed. Forecasters now anticipate growth of about 2.7 percent for this year—generally in line with expectations at the start of 2025. This resilience was fueled by rapid adaptation, including the shifting of supply chains, fast adoption of digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and diversified markets.

Against this backdrop, the World Bank Group continued working with countries to create the conditions for progress, opportunity, and resilience, with a focus on one powerful lever: jobs. This was our year of job creation, as we placed it at the center of our development efforts.  Jobs are not only the surest path out of poverty, but also provide dignity, hope, and stability. They build self-sufficient economies, reduce humanitarian need, and drive demand for goods, helping ensure that development is both sustainable and thriving. 

We are living through one of history’s greatest demographic shifts. Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age, shaping the next century. Ensuring there are enough jobs for them is critical: this demographic dividend could catalyze the global economy. But a lack of opportunities could fuel instability, unrest, and mass migration, with implications for every region and economy.  

Energy and Infrastructure

Strong infrastructure is foundational to development, connecting people to opportunities and improving lives. Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is central to this as it helps drive economies, deliver essential services, and spur job creation. The need is especially urgent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where close to 600 million people still lack electricity.  

That’s why we launched Mission 300 with the African Development Bank. The ambitious initiative aims to connect 300 million people to electricity in Africa by 2030, providing the power needed to boost productivity for people and businesses.

Agribusiness

Agriculture is critical to jobs and food security. In developing countries, the sector makes up 40 percent of employment, with smallholder farmers producing most of the world’s food. Yet many farmers live in poverty, constrained by traditional practices and limited access to markets, finance, and technology. For instance, only 10 percent of small farmers currently access financing. Meanwhile, it’s expected that the world will need 30 percent more food by 2050 because of population growth. 

To help unlock agriculture’s full potential, we launched AgriConnect this year, an initiative designed to transform smallholder farming, generate jobs, and strengthen global food security. It aims to help smallholder farmers move from subsistence to surplus, including through increased financing, linking producers to markets, and equipping farmers with digital tools like small AI.  These efforts are underpinned by the World Bank Group’s pledge to double our yearly investment in agribusiness to $9 billion by 2030 and mobilize an additional $5 billion. 

Health Care

Good health empowers people, supports employment, and drives economic growth. Access to quality health services can help people work, learn, and take care of their families. This boosts productivity and human potential, strengthening both communities and the economy. Investing in health systems also creates jobs, not only in clinics and hospitals but across industries such as manufacturing, technology, logistics, and pharmaceuticals.  

To maximize the benefits of primary health care, the World Bank Group has set a goal to deliver quality, affordable health services for 1.5 billion people by 2030. Strong partnerships are crucial to achieving this goal, as seen at this year’s Universal Health Coverage High-Level Forum in Tokyo. There, 15 countries committed to National Health Compacts to expand primary care and philanthropies committed $410 million in support of these compacts. The World Bank Group also announced aligned financing with Gavi and the Global Fund, including $2 billion co-financed with each institution.

Tourism

The tourism sector provides major opportunities for developing economies to create productive and inclusive jobs, grow innovative firms, finance the conservation of natural and cultural assets, and increase economic empowerment, especially for women, who make up more than half of the tourism workforce. In 2024, travel and tourism contributed to roughly 10 percent of global gross domestic product and supported an estimated 357 million jobs—more than 10 percent of all employment worldwide. By 2035, the sector is projected to generate about 91 million additional roles. Much of this growth will happen in cities.  

The World Bank Group supports sustainable, local tourism and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises across hospitality, festivals, culture, transport, and more. In India, for instance, the Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project created nearly 3,000 jobs and boosted incomes for local entrepreneurs by strengthening economic development, planning, and governance in key urban tourism destinations. 

Manufacturing

Manufacturing drives economic growth and modernization. It produces the goods that enable economies and people to thrive, from cars and electronics to chemicals, construction materials, and textiles, while reducing import dependence and supporting domestic markets and export trade. The sector also creates jobs across skill levels, helping people, especially women, move from informal work to secure, formal employment.  

Led by IFC, the World Bank Group is expanding manufacturing in emerging economies. Financing and expert guidance is helping companies build robust supply operations, reach new markets, and adopt more efficient practices. By strengthening local supply chains, we are spurring job growth and development. 

The Possibilities Ahead

These goals cannot be accomplished by any one government or development agency alone. To make them a reality, we must also fully mobilize the private sector. The World Bank Group is doing this by breaking down barriers to investment and creating the conditions for private capital to deliver meaningful development impact.  

This year, we saw strong momentum. Private capital mobilization (PCM) rose from $47 billion to $67 billion in just two years. Total commitments, including PCM, reached $186 billion, and we raised another $79 billion from private investors through bond issuances. We’re also working to triple our guarantee business by 2030. We’ve centralized our guarantee platform  in our Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), making it easier for clients and helping boost our guarantee issuances (Listen to our podcast from this summer on why guarantees matter in today's development financing landscape).  

While financial and other risks persist, 2025 showed us that countries are more resilient than imagined. After three years of outperforming expectations, the global economy has done so again this year. This resilience isn’t built overnight—it grows through reforms, investment, and partnerships. The work ahead depends on deepening that foundation. As we look toward 2026, we remain committed to development that is resilient, fiscally sound, and based on trust. We call this approach smart development. And job creation is at its core. 

In 2025, the World Bank Group made jobs its defining mission. In 2026, that mission will start to yield visible, measurable, and transformative results. By focusing on jobs today, we lay the foundation for a more secure, prosperous tomorrow. – World Bank