Half of world population covered by social protection for first time, says ILO

More than half of the world’s population is covered by social protection for the first time, the Director-General of the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) Gilbert F Houngbo has said.

In a meeting in New Delhi with Mansukh Mandaviya, India’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Houngbo said, "This welcome progress is dampened by the fact that 3.8 billion people worldwide are still entirely unprotected from life’s challenges and the impacts of climate change.”

He noted India’s progress in enhancing social protection coverage, noting, "The ILO’s latest World Social Protection Report (WSPR) acknowledged the doubling of India’s social protection coverage from 24.4 percent to 48.8 percent in 2024.”

Houngbo was in India for the Regional Dialogue on Social Justice, a UN platform for advancing social justice, decent work, and inclusive economic growth. India represents the Asia-Pacific region in the ILO’s Coordinating Group of the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

Mandaviya underscored India’s dedication to "quality employment, skills development, and social protection as pillars of social justice, aligning with the government’s vision to make India a developed country by 2047, the centennial of its independence.”

India is a founding member of the ILO and has been a permanent member of the ILO Governing Body since 1922.

WAM