South Asia’s youth boom: opportunity or pressure?

IMF says investment in people is key

South Asia’s young population presents both an opportunity and a challenge for policymakers, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday.

At a press conference on the Global Policy Agenda at the 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Bangkok, the IMF said advanced economies and some emerging markets are ageing fast, while Africa and South Asia are experiencing a youth bulge, an unusually large share of young people in the population.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva took part in the conference.

According to a Unicef report, South Asia has the world’s largest population of young people, with more than 340 million adolescents and over 700 million people under the age of 24.

In Bangladesh, nearly 46 million people, or one-fourth of the population, are aged 15-29, making it one of the region’s largest youth populations, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

The IMF said countries with growing youth populations should prioritise investment in education, skills and health. Modernising labour markets requires expanding retraining opportunities, increasing labour force participation, easing worker mobility and supporting workers through transitions rather than trying to preserve specific jobs.

The IMF also described a vibrant private sector as essential for generating growth and employment. It recommended simplifying regulations, strengthening competition and governance, expanding access to finance and designing efficient tax systems while maintaining openness to trade and investment.

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital finance offers new opportunities but could also disrupt labour markets and widen inequality, the multilateral lender said. Realising the benefits of AI will require investment in digital infrastructure, sustainable energy and skills, alongside policies to ensure productivity gains translate into broad improvements in living standards.

The IMF urged governments to reprioritise public spending to protect growth-supporting investment and essential social expenditure.