• Sub-Saharan Africa’s working-age population will rise by over 620 million by 2050, requiring 25 million new jobs annually.
• The World Bank urges the region to boost medium and large enterprises to absorb labor growth.
• Persistent conflicts, climate impacts, and weak public finances threaten job creation.

The World Bank warned that Sub-Saharan Africa must urgently address structural barriers to private sector growth to create enough jobs for its fast-growing labor force.

The region’s working-age population will expand by more than 620 million people by 2050 — the sharpest increase ever recorded over a 25-year period, the Bank said in a report released on October 18, 2025. To absorb this growth, the region must create an average of 25 million jobs annually.

This surge stems from a “unique” demographic trend. The report forecasts that Sub-Saharan Africa will account for 90% of global population growth over the next quarter century.

The demographic boom comes amid persistent conflict, worsening climate shocks, and fragile public finances. The region already struggles to provide sufficient employment for its current workforce.

To generate jobs at scale, the World Bank recommends a new growth model centered on the expansion of medium and large enterprises capable of achieving economies of scale and offering higher-quality employment.

“The region needs more structured and efficient production systems built on a larger share of medium and large firms,” the Bank said. “Most enterprises remain small and informal, limiting their ability to generate productive jobs.”

The report emphasizes that lowering the cost of doing business is critical. Improving the business environment would allow existing firms to grow and attract new high-growth companies to the African market.

Key sectors with strong job-creation potential include agribusiness, mining, tourism, and hospitality, the Bank said. Achieving this will require policies that improve infrastructure, workforce skills, business climate, and institutional capacity.

For now, few concrete strategies exist to prepare Africa’s labor force for future challenges. Akinwumi Adesina, former president of the African Development Bank, warned that “Africa must act fast to avoid a major unemployment crisis,” with only 100 million employed out of 450 million people by 2030.

Employment pressures are particularly acute in fragile states such as the Central African Republic, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Angola, where the working-age population is expected to more than double by 2050.

Globally, job creation remains a significant challenge. Between 2025 and 2050, three world regions will see their working-age populations increase by over one billion people, most of them aged 15 to 64 who will need employment, the report said.

This article was initially published in French by Lydie Mobio

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum