Improving resilience and governance are keys to South Sudan’s development

South Sudan is approaching a critical turning point, one that will shape the lives of millions for decades. Climate shocks, especially severe flooding, are striking with increasing frequency, displacing communities, destroying crops, and driving up food prices.

At the same time, economic fragility rooted in dependence on oil, chronic macro‑instability, and lack of private sector development is deepening vulnerabilities. And at this moment of rising pressure, external aid, once a critical buffer, is declining.

These challenges are unfolding in a country where 92% of people live in poverty, and more than half the population faces acute food insecurity. Yet South Sudan also has significant potential. Its land, water, and natural resources offer a foundation for a more resilient, prosperous future. With the right decisions, the country can chart a different path, one that delivers stability and opportunity.

That opportunity must be anchored in job creation. Fighting climate impacts and economic fragility will not be sufficient unless South Sudan creates more and better jobs to strengthen household resilience, reduce dependence on external assistance, and restore economic confidence. Today, the jobs market remains overwhelmingly informal, with most rural households engaged in low‑productivity subsistence agriculture and limited value addition.

Two recent World Bank Group reports underscore how jobs are the most effective pathway from vulnerability to resilience: the Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) and the Public Finance Review (PFR). Both reports emphasize how creating jobs, strengthens livelihoods, builds self‑reliance, stimulates demand, and helps address key contributors to fragility, conflict, and displacement, particularly for youth and women.

The reports are a call to action.  Climate change has become a significant factor in South Sudan’s development. Floods are no longer temporary disruptions but rather are reshaping livelihoods and long‑term prospects for much of the population.

The CCDR estimates that $13 billion will need to be invested by 2050 to address the challenges posed by climate change, notably in flood control, climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and stronger infrastructure. This figure  represents an estimated  1.7% of future GDP whereas the cost of inaction could reach 8–14% of GDP by midcentury.

Where should the financing for these needed investments come from? External partners such as the World Bank Group can provide support, but the critical pathway is building an economy that can generate and allocate the resources where they are needed.  South Sudan has substantial assets and with even modest improvements in governance it can meet its financing challenges through public and especially private investement.

With respect to generating public resources for investment the PFR highlights critical weaknesses in budgeting, expenditure management, revenue management, as well as shortcomings in management of oil revenues that are estimated to result in effective losses of tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars annually. These are public resources that could be redirected to essential services such as infrastructure, health, education, water systems, and climate resilient agriculture. Too little public revenue currently reaches citizens. Improving governance, transparency, and accountability is thus a national imperative.

Public resources should only be a small part of the story.  Unleashing private business is central to building a thriving South Sudan and the role of government is to facilitate in making this happen.   Predictable policies, credible regulation, and improved public investment management are necessary to attract investment and enable firms to grow and hire.

A stronger public and private sector will allow the country to invest in resilient infrastructure to lower costs and connect people and markets; strengthen human capital by scaling up skills and vocational training, especially for youth and women, and improving policies and regulations to encourage private sector investment and enterprise growth.  The World Bank Group stands ready to support this agenda, but sustained political commitment will be essential.

South Sudan’s future is not predetermined. With bold choices today, the country can shift from crisis to opportunity and build a foundation for peace, prosperity, and resilience for generations to come.