ILO Data
World Social Protection Report 2024-26: In figures
9 September 2024
Who is covered by social protection?
The world has surpassed an important milestone: for the first time, more than half the world’s population (52.4 per cent) are covered by at least one social protection benefit. Yet, the remaining 47.6 per cent are left unprotected, without access to any social protection.
How far are we from implementing 'social protection systems and measures for all' as set by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 1.3? The proportion of population covered by social protection systems (SDG indicator 1.3.1) is key to measure progress.
Explore below the global and regional social protection effective coverage by population group.
How much countries spend on social protection as a percentage of their GDP?
In 2023, countries allocated 12.9 per cent of their GDP on average to social protection (excluding healthcare), alongside 6.5 per cent to healthcare, resulting in a total social protection expenditure of 19.3 per cent of GDP. However, there are significant disparities across national income groups.