Fewer than half the population of Asia and the Pacific have access to any social protection benefits, and public spending on social protection in the region is significantly below the global average, this new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found. Spending on social protection in the region has averaged 7.5 per cent of GDP over the past two years, with half of countries spending 2.6 per cent or less. This is significantly below the global average of 12.9 per cent. The World Social Protection Report 2020–22: Regional companion report for Asia and the Pacific finds that only 44.1 per cent of the region’s population have access to at least one social protection benefit. Looking at some specific benefits; only 45.9 per cent of new mothers received paid maternity leave and only 14 per cent of unemployed workers received unemployment benefits.
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