World Social Protection Report 2024–26

The 2024–26 edition of the World Social Protection Report focuses on universal social protection for climate action and a just transition. Providing a global update on the status of social protection worldwide, for the first time with trend data, the report offers a broad range of global, regional and country statistics on coverage, on the benefits provided and on related public expenditure. It identifies the protection and financing gaps that must be filled and sets forth actionable policy recommendations to achieve universal social protection for all by 2030. Crucially, the report illustrates how social protection can support climate policies and expedite a just transition, enabling countries to build resilient systems that protect their populations from both life-cycle risks and climate-related challenges. To do this, countries must build and strengthen their social protection systems to protect people from ordinary life-cycle risks, the vagaries of an increasingly volatile climate, and the socially adverse impacts of some climate policies.