Almost half the population remain poor, but the proportion has increased in rural areas and decreased in urban areas. Poverty stands at 48.6 percent nationally and almost 70 percent in rural areas; 21.3 percent are extreme poor, rising to 32.2 percent in rural areas5. The poverty rate hasn't...

A key challenge in Nepal is the intersection of predictable chronic or seasonal poverty andvulnerability, with rapid-onset and acute shocks. Nepal in the last few decades has epitomized the'perfect storm' in which a number of different factors-disasters, conflict, political uncertainty, and...

Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and a growing proportion of the population is at risk for social exclusion and long-term poverty. Overall spending on social protection has increased significantly over recent years, largely because of increases in pensions and war related...

The main objective of this policy note is to assess key social protection and labor (SPL) policies, program expenditures and institutional arrangements in Cote d'Ivoire. The note aims to identify policy options for improving allocative and technical efficiency for key programs, including how to...

The main objective of this technical note is to evaluate the institutional and implementation framework needed for strengthening payment systems as a core element of delivering social protection and labor (SPL) benefits to the poor, around which targeting, identification and monitoring systems...

Following the release of new GDP estimates, nominal GDP for FY18/19 increased and the structure of the economy has changed. In October 2019, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) released new GDP estimates, updating the base year for estimating economic activity to 2016/17 from 2009/10. As a...

The changing nature of work is upending traditional employment globally, and with it, social protection systems. As countries like India aspire to grow further and navigate a phase of rapid economic transformation, investments in social protection programs are critical to ensure broad gains for...

The World Bank has been supporting the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) in their efforts to bring about reforms in the administration and efficient delivery of social security programs. Several countries have been using technological advances in banking as well as...

This note summarizes the impacts of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on Vietnam's labor market in 2020 and evaluates the social protection response to identify lessons learned for future crises. Vietnam's labor market was shaken by the outbreak in 2020. But an effective...

Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked country of 2.1 million people encircled by South Africa, has made gains in poverty reduction over the last decade but challenges of shared prosperity remain. The country has made significant investments in developing social protection programs as part of the...