South Asia’s youth demand jobs. Here’s how the region is responding

Youth in South Asia are impatient for jobs. They recognize that a job is a pathway out of poverty, to a life of purpose, dignity, and self-worth. They also see that their economies are failing to create enough jobs for them. 

Recently, they showed their impatience to the world. In September 2025, Gen Z youth in Nepal, protesting the corruption that stifled growth and job creation, brought down the government. In August 2024, students in Bangladesh, protesting corruption and discriminatory job quotas, forced the prime minister into exile. Two years earlier, mass protests in Sri Lanka against a mismanaged economy forced the president to flee.

The governments of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are now struggling to meet the expectations of the youth who brought them to power. Jobs need to be at the center of this response. Other governments in the region have taken notice.

South Asia’s youth (aged 15-24) will near 300 million by 2035. About half will be in school, and a quarter will find work. But, with business as usual, the remaining quarter—more than 70 million—will be out of school and out of work. Young women will be especially hard hit, as social norms, security concerns, and household and child care responsibilities further limit their prospects.

Scaling up job creation in South Asia will require many things to go right at the same time. Countries will need to maintain strong gross domestic product growth, up-skill workers, and make labor markets work better. 

On the supply side of the labor market, countries will need to focus on workers under 35 (two-thirds of all workers) and women (only one in three women work in South Asia, half the rate in most other regions). It will help to close access gaps in education and finance, provide affordable child and elder care, ensure safe transport and workplaces, and reduce gender discrimination at work and at home.

On the demand side, unlocking the potential of micro, small and medium enterprises would yield the largest payoffs. Macroeconomic stability, regulatory predictability, institutional effectiveness, and the right physical and digital infrastructure will play foundational roles. On top of this, targeted interventions can be made to address distortions and support private enterprise in job-rich growth areas such as agribusiness, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, and tourism.  As we detailed in our 2024 South Asia Development Update, Jobs for Resilience, simplifying tax and labor regulations and eliminating distortive policies favoring large, and often state-owned, firms would help. Investments in energy and transportation systems would also alleviate longstanding bottlenecks.

Notwithstanding global headwinds, South Asia would also benefit from fuller participation in global value chains. This would boost foreign direct investment, market size, competition, firm dynamism and therefore productivity—expanding South Asia’s ability to provide higher-quality products and services that command higher prices on world markets.

The World Bank Group can help. For example, the $300 million RAISE program in Bangladesh is enhancing earning opportunities for 900,000 youth who have not completed primary school through services such as counseling, on-the-job and life skills training, and access to finance. 

One RAISE beneficiary, Suma, married young. Soon after she and her husband had a child, the couple divorced. Carrying the stigma of a divorcee and with nowhere else to go, Suma returned to her parents, knowing she was now a burden to them. She felt powerless. Her education, soft skills, and networks were limited. She also faced gender bias, child care responsibilities, and security fears. RAISE helped Suma complete an apprenticeship in graphic design. She was then hired by the company that trained her and today she is herself a trainer. Far from being an outcast and a burden, Suma now stands as a role model to others on how to turn their lives around.

RAISE is one World Bank-supported program among many. In India, the $250 million Skill India Mission Operation funded District Skill Committees to help almost six million young people (34 percent of them female) acquire market-oriented commercial and professional skills. In Sikkim, World Bank financing supported the state to help women find jobs through non-farm skilling and expanded child care, a key enabler for women’s work. In the Maldives, the Sustainable and Integrated Labor Services project offers job services, providing counseling, training, and job search assistance, as well as unemployment benefits and insurance. 

In Sri Lanka, following the economic crisis, the World Bank supported economic reforms to boost competitiveness and lay the foundation for a private-sector-led recovery and job creation. 

And our South Asia Jobs Accelerator program helps the private sector identify obstacles to investment and job creation and helps governments address them. Examples include medical tourism in Tamil Nadu, agribusiness in Maharashtra, and tourism and digital development in Bhutan.

The World Bank Group is making sustainable job creation an explicit aim in everything we do. The goal is to help countries build dynamic private sectors that convert growth into jobs. There is no better way to reduce poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet.