| New World Bank Report Highlights Four Pathways to Spur Job Creation and Inclusive Growth in South Africa
February 28, 2025--A new World Bank report titled "Driving Inclusive Growth in South Africa: Quick Wins with Competitive Markets and Efficient Institutions" asserts that a robust economic recovery, shared across all sectors of society, can be achieved in the immediate future by implementing a series of policy actions in four priority areas: infrastructure services, greater private sector participation, creating cities as engines of growth, and efficient public spending. |
| This recovery, in turn, has the potential to create the millions of jobs that South Africans need to improve their lives, exit poverty, and contribute to the economy.
Over the past decade, South Africa has struggled to expand its economy, growing by only 0.7% per year, which is four times slower than other middle-income countries. As a result, real GDP per capita is now around the same level as it was in 2007. Economic opportunities also remained deeply unequal, with two-thirds of South Africans living in poverty and 40% of adults, primarily young people and women, either unemployed or discouraged from looking for a job. This figure represents the world’s highest unemployment rate. |