The World Bank Group has approved two new programs to strengthen Jordan’s human capital through targeted investments in education, health, and social assistance. With a combined financing of $700 million, the Jordan Human Capital Program and the Jordan: Modernizing Education, Skills, and Administrative Reforms (MASAR) Program aim to drive sustainable and inclusive growth, enhance education quality, and better equip youth with skills for future jobs.
Jordan's resilience in an increasingly volatile region has been notable. However, external shocks have impacted economic growth and job creation while hampering progress in addressing socio-economic challenges. With over 66% of its population under 30, Jordan has a unique opportunity to benefit from its demographic dividend for development and growth. Yet gaps remain in education access, particularly for early childhood education. Further investments are needed to improve education quality and expand technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for future jobs. High prevalence of risk factors such as smoking and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases lead to increased morbidity, reduced productivity, and lower job market participation. Despite progress made by the government of Jordan in expanding its Social Protection programs, significant coverage gaps remain with a third of Jordanian workers still lacking access to social security.
“To achieve its development ambitions, Jordan will need to harness its greatest potential asset—its human capital, particularly its youth and women,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Country Director for the Middle East Department. “By further investing in education, health, and social protection, Jordan can strengthen the resilience of its economy and make it more inclusive. These efforts will ensure that the young population, particularly women and the most vulnerable can fully participate in and benefit from the Kingdom’s growth and development.”
The Jordan Human Capital Program ($300 million) aims to improve governance and effectiveness of social sectors to ensure better outcomes for all Jordanians while promoting resilience against climate change effects. The program supports results-oriented service delivery focusing on improving governance in key sectors: education (critical for equipping young Jordanians with necessary skills), health (which accounts for substantial arrears despite regular funding), and social assistance (with an effective cash transfer program reducing inequality).
The MASAR Program – Pathways in Arabic – ($400 million including a $7 million grant from the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF)) aims to equip children and youth with relevant labor market skills amid economic transformation. It focuses on three areas: improving home-to-school transitions; enhancing school-to-work transitions; improving efficiency in education system management. MASAR includes technical assistance supporting government implementation of critical reforms.
By 2029, MASAR expects significant milestones such as enrolling 25,000 additional students in KG2; ensuring 4,200 KG classrooms meet quality standards; enrolling 150,000 students in grades 1-3 in foundational skill programs; graduating 50,000 students from accredited TVET programs; recruiting 70% civil servant teachers through competency-based mechanisms. The program will also benefit refugees contributing to the 2024-2026 Jordan Response Plan for Syrian Crisis.
Both programs align with Jordan’s reform priorities outlined in Economic Modernization Vision & Public Sector Modernization roadmap 2023-2025 prioritizing human capital supporting ‘Smart Jordan’ driver implementation aligning with World Bank's ongoing support.
The Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF), established in 2016 provides concessional financing aiding middle-income countries hosting large refugee numbers including $599 million grants enabling $3.3 billion loans helping address refugee influx impacts provided by Government of Japan under MASAR program.