The World Bank in Africa

There is a positive correlation between learning and GDP per capita, as better learning leads to a more productive workforce, which in turn contributes to GDP growth. However, learning alone is not sufficient: if there is weak demand for well-educated workers, individuals may struggle to translate their human capital into better, higher-paying jobs.

Find out more in October 2024 edition of Africa Pulse. The report highlights the urgency to address the education and skills gaps, among other investment and policy priorities, which could help accelerate growth to end poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, seven in 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa are not benefiting from pre-primary education. And fewer than 1.5% of 15-to-24-year-olds are enrolled in formal vocational education programs, compared to roughly 10% in high-income countries.

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Digitalization presents immense opportunities for development in Eastern and Southern Africa, including job creation, poverty reduction, and improved service delivery, but current levels of internet availability and access are insufficient and uneven. The region currently has the slowest pace of digitalization globally, with only 64 percent of the population covered by high-speed internet, and just 24 percent of the population using the internet as of 2023. Learn more...

Gender driven inequalities are rooted in societal norms and systems. Within households, there is often a division of tasks between women and men. This division arises from cultural norms that assign men the role of primary breadwinners, while women are expected to fulfill the primary caregiving responsibilities. Consequently, worldwide, women bear the majority of the burden when it comes to domestic and unpaid care work.

Gender Equality in Eastern and Southern Africa

With 365 million people without electricity access and 558 million people without clean cooking access, Eastern and Southern Africa accounts for more than half of the world’s unelectrified population (675 million) and nearly a quarter of the global population without access to clean cooking (2.4 billion). Accelerating energy access progress in the region is essential not only to help unlock its potential and deliver on its development goals, but also to help the world achieve SDG7 (and other SDG goals) and address global challenges including climate change, resilience, and fragility.

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For many people in West and Central Africa, the absence of access to electricity or frequent power cuts are part of everyday life and create a bottleneck for economic activity. Currently, more than 220 million people in the region—close to half the population—have no access to electricity, limiting their ability to operate businesses, generate income or receive adequate education and health services. Access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is not only a lifeline for people, but also an imperative to transform the continent. Here are some game changing projects that are making a real difference in powering the economies of the region.

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The number of people without access to water is growing in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only region of the world where this is happening. About 387 million people lived without access to basic drinking water services in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020, up from 350 million people in 2000, according to a WHO/ UNICEF progress report.

By acting now and acting at scale, countries can accelerate #WaterAction, protect and improve lives, and reap economic rewards.

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We cannot end poverty on a livable planet without women’s full participation. On International Women’s Day 2025, we are highlighting that when women and girls can reach their full potential, they transform economies and societies—creating jobs, driving innovation, and fueling economic growth.

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Despite significant gains in expanding access to education in Western and Central Africa over the past two decades, many challenges remain and learning poverty is preventing the region from achieving higher economic growth and shared prosperity. Leaders from across Western and Central Africa endorsed the Accra Urgent Call for Action on Education in June 2022 to meet ambitious targets. To sustain the momentum, the World Bank has ramped up its engagement in education and is working with all its partners across the region to achieve the ambitious goal of educating all young people.

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Our vision is for all children and youth in Eastern and Southern Africa to have the education and skills to realize their potential and contribute to the sustainable development of the region. 

In Eastern and Southern Africa, 62 million children, adolescents, and youth are projected to be out of school by 2030. Without substantial action, approximately 89% (or 122.8 million) of school-aged children will be ‘learning poor’. Overall, nearly 9 in 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle to read by age 10, a global concern exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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