World Bank Approves $105M for Uzbekistan Education, $700M for Jordan

Tashkent/Amman — The World Bank has approved a $105 million support package for Uzbekistan’s primary education reform and a separate $700 million loan to support Jordan’s economic reforms, the Bank said on Wednesday. The Uzbekistan package comprises a $100 million concessional credit from the International Development Association and a $5 million grant from the International Finance Facility for Education, while the Jordan loan represents the second phase of the Jordan Growth and Competitiveness Development Policy Financing program.

"Strengthening foundational skills in primary schools is central to building Uzbekistan's human capital base," said Najy Benhassine, World Bank country director for Central Asia.

Program details and targets

The Uzbekistan initiative, titled "Transforming Public Education for Economic Growth," is designed to run through 2030 and targets early-grade learning and school capacity. Under the program the government aims to:

• Provide professional development for approximately 50,000 teachers and school administrators;
• Create 27,000 additional primary school seats across six regions;
• Benefit around 2 million students in grades 1 to 4.

World Bank data cited in the Bank’s announcement notes school enrollment in Uzbekistan is expected to exceed 7.6 million students in 2026. Driven by rapid population growth, the country faces demand that would require the construction of roughly 300 new schools annually to keep pace.

Jordan: investing in competitiveness, jobs and transitions

The $700 million loan for Jordan is intended to stimulate private investment, broaden financial access, create jobs and accelerate the kingdom’s green and digital transition. The financing is described as the second phase of the broader policy package aimed at growth and competitiveness.

Despite regional challenges, Jordan maintained macroeconomic stability with real gross domestic product growing 2.8% in 2025. The World Bank statement also highlighted that the kingdom secured its first sovereign credit rating upgrade in more than two decades in 2024 — a development the Bank said has helped preserve a stable outlook.

Context and implications

The Uzbekistan education package concentrates resources on foundational skills at the primary level and capacity building for educators, reflecting a focus on human capital as a long-term driver of economic growth. Training 50,000 teachers and administrators and adding 27,000 seats is intended to address both quality and supply constraints in early schooling, but the scale of need—millions of additional students and an annual requirement for hundreds of new schools—means the program will be one part of a larger, multi-year response.

For Jordan, the large-scale loan underscores an emphasis on policy reforms to mobilise private-sector investment and accelerate transitions to greener, more digital economic activity. The financing aims to support reforms that expand financial access and job creation, priorities that policymakers have linked to sustaining growth in a volatile regional environment.

Outlook

Both approvals signal continued multilateral engagement in long-term development priorities: human capital formation in Uzbekistan and structural competitiveness reforms in Jordan. Implementation through 2030 for Uzbekistan and the sequencing of Jordan’s second-phase reforms will determine how quickly targeted outcomes—teacher training, additional classroom capacity, increased private investment and jobs—materialise. Monitoring progress on enrollment, learning outcomes and private-sector response will be critical to assess the effectiveness of the respective investments.