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.

The third version of the Annual Digest continues to capture important policy developments related to social protection in the Arab region, ranging from comprehensive structural changes aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of social protection systems, to temporary provisions addressing the economic impacts of shocks on private households. This version also includes additional inputs from policymakers in the Arab countries.

This second edition of the Annual Digest of Social Protection Reforms in the Arab Countries continues to capture publicly announced policy developments of social protection reform in the Arab region. It is encouraging to observe that while the overall number of recorded reforms is nearly unchanged, 2023 was marked by a larger share of comprehensive structural reforms compared to 2022, which featured a greater share of temporary or ad-hoc measures.

The inception of the Annual Digest series is underpinned by a novel approach of automated data collection to map out trends of social protection reforms in the Arab region. It serves as a comprehensive – albeit not exhaustive – record of the remarkable efforts made by the region’s governments throughout the year.