Annual Digest of Social Protection Reforms in the Arab Region, 2025

The fourth edition of the Annual Digest of the Social Protection Reforms in the Arab Region documents 183 policy or programme changes, the highest number recorded since the inception of this publication series. These were collected through various means and sources, including automatic news monitoring and direct inputs from policymakers of ESCWA member States. A few trends can be observed in this edition. Sustainable domestic resource mobilization is becoming an increasingly important topic to policymakers in the region. Although shock-responsive measures remain an important component of social protection systems, especially in low-income countries, their share of total social protection developments continues to decline. Meanwhile, an increasing number of countries are strengthening their social protection systems by introducing or prioritizing labour market integration or economic inclusion measures for social assistance beneficiaries.