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The World Bank has revealed that Africa’s population is growing at an unprecedented rate, projecting that Nigeria’s population will rise by about 130 million people by the year 2050.
With over 220 million residents, making it the sixth most populous nation globally, the Bretton Woods institution urged Nigeria and other developing nations to prioritise large-scale job creation to match their demographic expansion.
During the 2025 World Bank–IMF Annual Meetings Plenary, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga emphasised that employment generation must lie at the heart of every national, developmental, and security strategy.
Banga projected that by 2050, more than 85 per cent of the global population will reside in developing nations, with Africa set to account for one in every four people in the world.
He further estimated that 1.2 billion youths will join the global workforce over the next 10 to 15 years, competing for roughly 400 million job opportunities—only a third of the total required.
“These young people—with their energy and ideas—will define the next century,” he said. “With the right investments, we can unlock a powerful engine of global growth.”
Highlighting the bank’s recent efforts, Banga disclosed that 153 internal performance indicators had been replaced with a corporate scorecard featuring 22 key outcomes. He added that the institution’s financial strength had expanded by around $100 billion through new mechanisms and optimisation measures.
He explained that annual financing had grown from $107 billion to $119 billion within two years, private capital mobilisation rose from $47 billion to $67 billion, total commitments including PCM reached $186 billion, while another $79 billion was generated through bond issuances.
As a result of these initiatives, 20 million farmers have gained access to modern agricultural technologies, inputs, and markets; 60 million individuals now have electricity access; 70 million people have received education or vocational training; and 300 million people have benefited from quality healthcare and nutrition services.
The World Bank has also strengthened its collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and is developing an IFC2030 strategy to expand private capital mobilisation. Its MDB co-financing platform has supported 175 projects globally.
Banga further noted that the bank is working closely with governments to combat corruption using data analytics, digital identification linked to assets, enhanced fraud detection, and artificial intelligence that integrates tax, property, and identity information.
“Over the past decade, we’ve supported 120 governments in this effort and are currently working with 26 more to target corruption and illicit financial flows,” he said.
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