Summary
Over the past decade, low- and middle-income countries have expanded social protection to cover a record number of 4.7 billion people. Despite significant progress, three out of four people in low-income countries receive no form of social protection, and even in lower-middle-income countries, more than half of the population remains uncovered.
Access to social protection remains an aspiration rather than a reality for far too many people. These unreached households, often among the poorest, bear a disproportionate burden of constraints that prevent them from escaping poverty, weathering shocks and crises, and managing the uncertainties of a fast-changing world.
This report highlights the urgent need for policy actions to expand coverage, increase the adequacy of benefits, build shock-responsive systems, and optimize financing. Without these efforts, recent historic gains risk stalling. At current growth rates, it will take 18 years to achieve full coverage for those people living in extreme poverty and 20 years to cover the poorest 20% of households.
The rising frequency of shocks and crises calls for major investments in the adaptability and preparedness of social protection and labor systems. Amid a world in transition, social protection is more important and necessary than ever.
Key Findings
The world has seen significant progress
- In the past decade, social protection and labor programs have dramatically expanded, providing vital support to millions of people facing poverty, crises, and life’s uncertainties. Social services have expanded in low- and middle-income countries to 4.7 billion, the highest point in history. Coverage has increased by 10 percentage points – from 41% to 51% of the population between 2010 and 2022, with significant gains among the poor in low-income countries.
- In the Sahel region, for instance, thanks to social protection, when droughts and other shocks occur, beneficiaries now avoid a 24% drop in consumption. They are also 25% less likely to reduce health and education spending.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency social protection responses reached 1.7 billion people in developing countries, demonstrating the importance of shock-responsive systems. Countries with robust delivery infrastructure prior to the pandemic responded more effectively, emphasizing the need for proactive investment.
But the Gap Remains Substantial
- Two billion people in low- and middle-income countries still lack adequate social protection coverage – and 80% of these people have no coverage at all, including over 1 billion people in Africa and South Asia alone.
- In low-income countries, only 25% - one in four – benefit from social protection systems, leaving many vulnerable to poverty, crises, and shocks.
- The gap is most profound in regions affected by fragility, conflict, and hunger—across Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East—where the poorest bear the brunt of poverty and inequality.
- Across a sample of 27 countries, women receive, on average, 81 cents for every $1 received by men.
- If we continue at the current pace, it will take nearly two decades to achieve universal coverage for the poorest households.
Linking to the Jobs Agenda
- Considering a looming jobs crisis, efforts should be redoubled to help the poor access more and better jobs. This will require more investment in employment programs, which are now a minimal part of social protection spending.
- Social services and labor programs can significantly expand labor opportunities for the poor. These programs, such as public works, unemployment insurance, and public employment services, positively impact labor market opportunities and earnings. However, their potential is often underexploited due to insufficient spending and a lack of context-specific design.
The Future of Social Protection
- Despite the massive increases in coverage, progress remains slow. At current rates, it will take 20 more years to provide social protection to all the world’s poor.
- The World Bank is committed to scaling up social protection programs, working with governments and partners, to reach 500 million more people, half of them women, by 2030.
- There are three ways to accelerate progress and provide adequate support to those in need:
- Expand coverage
- Expanding coverage is not just about money. It will require building the infrastructure needed to grow social protection programs, including databases, digital payment systems, case management systems that identify people in need and help support them in a timely and effective manner.
- Increase the adequacy of benefits
- In many low-income countries, benefits are so low that they barely affect poverty. Low benefits force poor people to focus on survival and leaves them little room to plan for their future.
- People also need different types of support. For example, some people need better social services to address domestic violence or addiction. And many people need more employment support and economic inclusion to access better jobs.
- Develop shock-responsive systems
- This can be accomplished by improving the databases, payment systems and early warning systems that help programs respond quickly to crises.
- The focus should go beyond direct support to help ensure that employment programs help people find and keep jobs when shocks occur, or when new opportunities arise.
But how to pay for it?
- There is no question that more money will be needed to accomplish these goals, but money is only half of the equation. In many countries, better use of that money can also help close the gap. Global energy subsidies benefit the rich more than the poor. It is over four times the average social assistance expenditure. Subsidy reforms could free up much of the resources needed to better cover the poor.
- Social protection programs can also be made more effective. Redirecting spending towards the poor could fill almost half of the financing needs required to cover them.
- In a world undergoing rapid change, the cost of inaction will not only be higher than the cost of investment—it will be measured in lost opportunities, deeper inequalities, and diminished resilience for generations to come.