Asia-Pacific Achieves Social Protection Milestone, Faces Climate Challenges

Despite this progress, around 2.1 billion people in the region remain without protection against life-cycle and socio-economic risks, with coverage uneven across different countries.

Asia-Pacific Achieves Social Protection Milestone, Faces Climate Challenges

The Asia-Pacific region marked a key milestone in 2023, with more than half of its population (53.6%) now covered by at least one social protection benefit, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report. However, the region’s social protection systems face critical challenges, including the need to strengthen their capacity to mitigate climate change impacts.

The ILO’s Regional Companion Report for Asia and the Pacific—part of the World Social Protection Report 2024-26: Universal Social Protection for Climate Action and a Just Transition—reveals that the region’s social protection coverage has now surpassed the global average of 52.4%. Despite this progress, around 2.1 billion people in the region remain without protection against life-cycle and socio-economic risks, with coverage uneven across different countries.

Since 2015, significant progress has been made in extending social protection in various subregions:

Eastern Asia saw a 15.2 percentage point increase (from 63.3% to 78.5%).

South-Eastern Asia increased by 13.4 percentage points (32.5% to 45.9%).

Southern Asia improved by 16.7 percentage points (18.7% to 35.4%).

Pacific Islands saw a 6.8 percentage point rise (65.7% to 72.5%).

Despite these gains, disparities persist among countries, and social protection systems remain underfunded. In 2023, Asia-Pacific countries spent only 11.8% of their GDP on social protection, well below the global average of 19.3%. Additionally, women’s social protection coverage trails behind men’s by 6.8 percentage points, with Southern Asia showing the largest gap at 11.1 percentage points.

"While the progress made since 2015 is promising, much more needs to be done to achieve universal and comprehensive social protection," said Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.

Given that 16 of the 50 most climate-vulnerable countries are in the Asia-Pacific region, the report emphasizes the role of robust social protection systems in supporting climate adaptation and promoting a green economy. Properly designed social protection can provide income security for those affected by climate policy measures and enhance resilience, particularly for vulnerable communities.

Kenichi Hirose, Senior Social Protection Specialist at the ILO, warned, “It is particularly concerning that many countries in the region are highly vulnerable to climate change but have low social protection coverage. These systems are crucial for supporting climate efforts and facilitating a just transition.”

The report calls for urgent investment in resilient social protection systems to address these challenges.