<\/p>\n
The Zimbabwe Growth and Jobs Report said fiscal and monetary discipline reduced local currency inflation to single digits in early 2026 for the first time since 1997.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged nearly 6% between 2021 and 2025. However, economic growth has not produced widespread improvements in household incomes or productive employment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About 80% of Zimbabweans work in the informal sector, with median monthly earnings of $130. Nearly half of Zimbabwe\u2019s population lives below the international poverty line.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Employment has largely shifted from agriculture into low-productivity retail and informal services rather than formal manufacturing or high-value service industries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
World Bank Division Director for Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe Firas Raad said macroeconomic stability must translate into improved living standards and greater economic opportunities. \u201cBy addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, particularly in power, transport and irrigation, establishing a more predictable environment for business investment, and de-risking and attracting additional private investment, Zimbabwe can improve livelihoods across the country and remain on track toward its Vision 2030 goals,\u201d Raad said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Maintaining the current policy path could produce average economic growth of 4% through 2030, delaying Zimbabwe\u2019s upper-middle-income target until 2036.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Faster structural reforms could increase real GDP by an additional 10.7% above the baseline by 2030 and 26.9% by 2040. Real worker earnings could rise by more than 30% over the same period.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The World Bank Group identified macroeconomic stability, arrears resolution, infrastructure, regulatory reform and private investment as priorities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Electricity shortages cost Zimbabwe an estimated 6.1% of GDP annually. Investment in power generation, grid reliability, transport corridors and agricultural irrigation could therefore support business expansion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Simplified permits, lower administrative fees, easier cross-border trading procedures and streamlined tax policies could also encourage small businesses to invest, expand and enter the formal economy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
World Bank Senior Economist Victor Steenbergen said power reliability and trade facilitation could deliver early gains. \u201cThe window of opportunity created by recent stabilisation is open, but decisive and coordinated execution over multiple years will be essential,\u201d Steenbergen said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–WorldBank\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44639,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-44638","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Zimbabwe could create up to 230 000 jobs by 2040 through reforms targeting infrastructure, investment, business regulation and macroeconomic stability, according to the World Bank Group.","published_date":"","news_description":"Zimbabwe could create up to 230 000 jobs by 2040 through reforms targeting infrastructure, investment, business regulation and macroeconomic stability, according to the World Bank Group.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44640,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44638\/revisions\/44640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=44638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}