By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The World Bank announced Thursday it revised South Asia's economic growth forecast for 2024 to 6.4% from 6%, keeping the region on track to be the fastest growing in the world.
The institution said in a report that unlocking untapped potential by increasing women’s participation in the labor force and a further opening to global trade and investment could help the region grow even faster.
"South Asia’s outlook is undoubtedly promising, but the region could do more to realize its full economic potential,” said World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser.
"Key policy reforms to integrate more women into the workforce and remove barriers to global investment and trade can accelerate growth," he added. "Our research shows that raising female labor force participation rates in the region to those of men would increase regional GDP by up to 51 percent."
The World Bank noted that female labor force participation in South Asia is among the lowest in the world, with only 32% of working-age women in the labor force in 2023, compared to 77% of working-age men in the region.
"South Asia’s female labor force participation rate of 32 percent is well below the 54 percent average in emerging market and developing economies,” said Franziska Ohnsorge, World Bank chief economist for South Asia. "Increasing women’s employment requires action from all stakeholders. Our report recommends a multi-pronged effort where governments, the private sector, communities and households all have a role to play."