World Bank President Ajay Banga has warned that developing economies will generate only 400 million jobs over the next 15 years — leaving a deficit of 800 million for the 1.2 billion people expected to reach working age.
Speaking to Reuters ahead of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings opening in Washington this week, Banga said the Middle East war will dominate discussions but urged officials to stay focused on longer-term structural challenges including job creation, water access and electricity connectivity.
“We have to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Banga said. “Short-velocity cycle is what we’re going through. Longer velocity is this jobs circumstance or water.”
The World Bank’s Development Committee has outlined plans to work with developing countries on streamlining regulations, improving transparency around permits, strengthening anti-corruption measures and removing trade barriers. The bank identified five priority sectors less vulnerable to global trade disruption: infrastructure, smallholder agriculture, primary health care, tourism and value-added manufacturing.
Banga acknowledged the scale of the challenge. “If you don’t do it, the implications are quite severe in terms of illegal migration and instability,” he said, noting that over 117 million people were displaced worldwide as of 2025.
The bank also plans to announce a push to secure clean water for one billion more people, alongside existing programmes to connect 300 million African households to the electricity grid.
For Sri Lanka, the Spring Meetings carry particular significance. The country’s IMF programme delegation led by State Minister Eran Wickramaratne is in Washington seeking continued support amid the dual shock of energy crisis disruptions and US tariff pressures. Banga’s emphasis on tourism and manufacturing as resilient job sectors aligns closely with Sri Lanka’s post-crisis recovery strategy.
