A jobs agenda for the Middle East and North Africa Harun Onder Nelly Elmallakh & Diego Faurès February 26, 2025 This page in: English Français العربي © 2025 The World Bank Group

The World Bank’s new corporate scorecard sets a critical target: generating millions of well-paying jobs. This is vital for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where nearly 300 million youth are projected to enter the labor market in the next 25 years (Figure 1). Yet, MENA’s experience over the last 25 years shows that current efforts are unlikely to generate enough jobs for incoming generations. A new jobs agenda is urgently needed. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/arabvoices/a-jobs-agenda-for-the-middle-east-and-north-africa © 2025 The World Bank Group