The World Bank has called on Zimbabwe to implement decisive structural reforms, warning that a failure to transform the economy will keep gross domestic product (GDP) growth at an average of just 4% through 2030.

According to the latest World Bank Country Growth and Jobs Report, recent macroeconomic stabilisation, including local currency inflation falling to single digits in early 2026 for the first time since 1997, has opened a crucial window of opportunity.

“In 2026, Zimbabwe finds itself at an important inflection point,” the report stated.  “Owing to greater fiscal and monetary discipline, annual local currency inflation declined to single digits throughout the first half of 2026… The task now is to turn that stability into shared prosperity.”

The Bretton Woods institution said Zimbabwe will not reach upper-middle-income status until 2036, six years behind its Vision 2030 goal without structural change.

“Much of this shortfall stems from constraints that are addressable: infrastructure gaps that undermine productivity across sectors and a regulatory and institutional environment that discourages private sector development and investment,” the World Bank said.

If implemented as envisaged, the World Bank said Zimbabwe will be on track for upper-middle-income status by 2030, adding that “sustaining this pace and consistency will be critical, as any slippage in implementation would push this milestone further out.”

Under a business-as-usual scenario, economic expansion remains constrained by low productivity and deep-rooted structural bottlenecks.

The report highlighted that four in five jobs in Zimbabwe remain informal, median monthly wages stand at US$130, and nearly half the population continues to live below the international poverty line.

To bridge the gap, the World Bank outlines a framework anchored in macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability as preconditions.

The institution said there is need to prioritise reliable energy access, transport corridors, and climate-resilient agricultural infrastructure.

The World Bank also called for streamlining business permits, trade facilitation, and tax policies to lower costs for formal operations and strengthening land tenure, commercial justice, and financial depth to unlock domestic and foreign capital.

Econometric modelling from the report indicates that full implementation of these reforms could boost real GDP by 10.7 percent relative to the baseline by 2030 and by 26.9% by 2040.

Additionally, real wages could rise by over 30% by 2040, generating 2.7 million more and better-paid job equivalents.

“The returns to this agenda are large,” the report said. “Full implementation of these reforms could meaningfully accelerate GDP growth and generate substantially more, better-paid jobs… putting the country on track to reach upper-middle-income status by 2030.”

The report highlighted that consolidating macroeconomic stability, clearing multilateral debt arrears with institutions like the World Bank, African Development Bank, and European Investment Bank, and maintaining fiscal discipline remain critical immediate steps to catalyse the necessary concessional and private capital investments.