Adequacy of social safety net programs in Pakistan

Pakistan: Adequacy of social safety net programs was 4.9% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
4.9%
Change on year
down 13.4%
World rank
26th
of 33 countries
All-time high
17.9%
in 2007
All-time low
4.9%
in 2018
Years of data
5
2007–2018

Adequacy of social safety net programs in Pakistan, 2007–2018

51015202007201220182007: 17.9 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2009: 12 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2013: 7.9 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2015: 5.7 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2018: 4.9 % of total welfare of beneficiary households

Source: ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total welfare of beneficiary households.

Analysis

Pakistan recorded 4.9% for adequacy of social safety net programs in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is down 13.4% on the previous year and down 72.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adequacy of social safety net programs in Pakistan peaked at 17.9% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 4.9%, in 2018.

That places Pakistan 26th out of 33 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.0% 12.0% 17.9% 2
2010s 6.2% 4.9% 7.9% 3

Countries ranked near Pakistan

  1. 23 Paraguay 5.6% compare
  2. 24 Uruguay 5.2% compare
  3. 25 Bolivia 4.9% compare
  4. 27 Thailand 4.9% compare
  5. 28 Malawi 4.5% compare
  6. 29 Peru 4.2% compare

See the full ranking of 33 places →

More reference data data for Pakistan

All data for Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is adequacy of social safety net programs in Pakistan?
Adequacy of social safety net programs in Pakistan was 4.9% in 2018, according to ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest adequacy of social safety net programs recorded in Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 17.9% in 2007.
What is the lowest adequacy of social safety net programs recorded in Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 4.9% in 2018.
How does Pakistan rank for adequacy of social safety net programs?
Pakistan ranks 26th out of 33 countries with data for 2018.
Is adequacy of social safety net programs rising or falling in Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 72.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Pakistan data come from?
The figures come from ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Adequacy of social safety net programs. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Adequacy of social safety net programs
Unit
% of total welfare of beneficiary households
Source
ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
33 places, 338 data points, 2004–2023
Last refreshed

Adequacy of social safety net programs is measured by the total transfer amount received by the population participating in social safety net programs as a share of their total welfare. Social safety net programs include cash transfers, social pensions, cash transfers, school feeding, and other social assistance programs.