Unmanaged disaster risk is one of the biggest threats to job creation in the developing world.
So said the World Bank Group in a new brief.
Annual World Bank investment in disaster risk management grew from $7.5 billion to roughly $10.9 billion between fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
This reflects what the institution calls a fundamental shift, in which resilience is no longer treated as a post-crisis afterthought but as a precondition for economic development.
Over the next ten to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age, but only around 400 million jobs are expected to be created.
Floods, earthquakes and droughts that destroy roads, hospitals and farms don’t just cause immediate suffering. They erode the infrastructure, investment climate and human capital that job creation depends on.
The bank estimates that every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure yields roughly four dollars in returns, driven by avoided damage, fewer service disruptions and more reliable access to markets.
The brief points to several programs as models.
In Bangladesh, flood protection repairs combined with improved forecasting systems helped communities recover faster from the 2024 floods.
In Brazil, a regional lending program is channelling long-term credit to small municipalities that lack capital market access, funding drainage systems and flood defences while generating local construction jobs.
In Rwanda and Tonga, prearranged financing mechanisms allowed governments to respond quickly to shocks without gutting development budgets.
In Türkiye, two hospitals near the epicentre of the devastating February 2023 earthquakes survived largely intact because private investment, backed by World Bank guarantees, had built them to withstand exactly that.
The institution states that when risk is managed proactively, investment continues and workers are protected.
With climate change and rapid urbanisation increasing exposure to shocks worldwide, it says countries that plan ahead will be better positioned to attract investment and deliver employment for the next generation.
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