#6 Global Safety Net of Social Protection is Growing

​More people than ever are held by an invisible safety net of social protection. Over the last decade, low- and middle-income countries have expanded cash transfers, pensions, and labor programs to reach 4.7 billion people – a historic high. These systems help families weather crises, escape poverty, and seize new opportunities, turning short-term support into long-term resilience.

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The impact goes beyond individual households. For every dollar transferred to poor families, an estimated 2.50 dollars circulate back into local communities, strengthening human capital and economic growth. And the ambition is growing: the World Bank and its partners aim to extend adequate social protection to 500 million more people by 2030, half of them women. Gaps and injustices remain, but the direction is clear. When we invest in each other’s security, we are not only preventing people from falling; we are quietly building a more self-reliant, dignified global community.

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For more information see for instance:

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialprotection/publication/state-of-social-protection-2025-2-billion-person-challenge