World Bank Report Warns Solomon Islands Must Create More Jobs for Growing Youth Population
A new World Bank report has highlighted both an opportunity and a challenge for the Solomon Islands, warning that the country must create more jobs and economic opportunities for its growing youth population if it is to achieve sustainable growth in the years ahead.
The findings are contained in the World Bank’s latest Pacific Economic Update 2026: Pacific Jobs Pathway which Special Focus is on Water as an Essential Foundation for Jobs, which examines economic trends across 11 Pacific Island countries, including the Solomon Islands.
According to the report, Pacific Island countries are entering a period of increasing global uncertainty, driven by external shocks such as rising fuel prices, global conflicts, shipping disruptions, and inflationary pressures. Despite these challenges, the World Bank says the Pacific possesses one major advantage that many developed countries no longer have which is a young and growing population.
On the positive side, the country’s economy is projected to have grown by around 3.6 percent in 2025, an improvement from previous years. The World Bank attributes this growth to stronger mining and fisheries exports, increased public infrastructure spending, growth in labor mobility schemes, and support for agriculture sectors such as cocoa and coconut production.
The report notes that participation in overseas labor mobility programs has increased, allowing more Solomon Islanders to work abroad and send money home to support their families. These remittances have helped many households cope with rising living costs and have boosted local consumption.
However, the World Bank warns that economic growth alone will not be enough to secure the country’s future.
The report points out that Solomon Islands continues to face significant structural challenges, including high transport costs, expensive electricity, poor connectivity, and implementation constraints that limit private sector growth and job creation. These issues become even more important as the country’s logging industry which has long been a major contributor to economic activity which continues its gradual decline.
One of the strongest messages in the report is the need to create jobs for young people.
Across the Pacific, nearly one in five young people are not in education, employment, or training. The World Bank estimates that by 2035, young people could make up almost 30 percent of the region’s working-age population, creating both an opportunity and a challenge for governments.
For Solomon Islands, where a large share of the population is under the age of 30, this finding is particularly relevant. Many young people leave school each year hoping to find employment, but opportunities remain limited, especially in rural areas.
The report argues that Pacific governments, including Solomon Islands, need to shift towards a “jobs-first” approach that prioritizes investment in reliable infrastructure, education, skills training, digital connectivity, transport, water services, and support for small and medium-sized businesses.
The World Bank also identifies fisheries, tourism, agriculture, health services, infrastructure development, and digital services as sectors with strong potential to create jobs and improve livelihoods across the Pacific.
Another important finding concerns inflation and the cost of living.
While inflation in Solomon Islands eased from 4.2 percent in 2024 to around 3.4 percent in 2025, the report warns that rising fuel prices and international shipping costs in 2026 could once again place pressure on household budgets. Rural and outer island communities remain particularly vulnerable because transportation costs often make goods significantly more expensive than in urban centers.
The report further notes that while lower fuel prices helped ease transport costs during 2025, recent global developments, including tensions in the Middle East, have pushed fuel and freight costs higher again, creating fresh economic risks for import-dependent countries such as Solomon Islands.
Ultimately, the World Bank concludes that the future of Solomon Islands and the wider Pacific will depend on how successfully governments can transform their youthful population into a productive workforce.
Source: World Bank, Pacific Economic Update 2026 – Pacific Jobs Pathway: Special Focus on Water as an Essential Foundation for Jobs.
