The World Bank has issued a stark warning in its latest Africa’s Pulse report, urging Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African nations to urgently address a rising unemployment crisis to prevent deepening poverty and social instability.
While the region’s economic growth is projected to rise modestly from 3.5% in 2024 to 3.8% in 2025, this headline figure masks a critical challenge: a booming working-age population that is outpacing job creation. According to Andrew Dabalen, World Bank Chief Economist for the Africa Region, Sub-Saharan Africa’s working-age population will grow by over 600 million in the next 25 years.
“The challenge will be matching this growing population with better jobs, given that only 24 per cent of new workers today land wage-paying jobs,” Dabalen stated. He emphasized that “a structural shift toward more medium and large firms is essential to generate wage jobs at scale.”
The report highlights several persistent economic headwinds, including global trade uncertainty, declining investor appetite, and a shrinking pool of external finance. Debt service has more than doubled over the past decade, reaching 2% of GDP in 2024, with the number of countries at high risk of debt distress tripling since 2014.
The core issue is that the current pace of growth remains insufficient to reduce extreme poverty or create the number of quality jobs required for the world’s fastest-growing labor force.
To stimulate large-scale job creation, the World Bank outlines key policy priorities:
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Reducing Business Costs: Lowering the cost of doing business to enable firm expansion and new market entrants.
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Investing in Foundations: Providing better infrastructure—energy, digital, and transport—and developing human capital and skills.
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Strengthening Institutions: Curbing corruption and ensuring a stable, predictable business environment to attract private investment.
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Targeting Key Sectors: Stimulating private sector development in agribusiness, tourism, healthcare, and construction, which have high job-multiplier effects.
The report concludes that with the right reforms, Sub-Saharan Africa can unlock its vast employment potential and chart a path toward inclusive and sustainable growth.
