Nepal ranks 91st in world social progress index

Nepal has made marginal improvement in the Social Progress Index (SPI) this year from last year. Nepal has improved its score to 60.08 (91st) this year from 57.4 (95th) among 133 countries in 2016, according to The Social Progress Index-2017.
"Nepal has been ranked 91st – among 128 countries that covers 98 per cent of the world’s population – in the world in social progress this year," the index published by Social Progress Imperative – a non-profit organisation based in Washington – reported. It has also classified Nepal as one of the ‘Lower Middle Social Progress’ countries with a score of 60.08 on a scale of 100 on SPI.
In South Asia, Nepal is second after Sri Lanka (73rd) while India has been ranked 93rd, Bangladesh (97th), Pakistan (105th) and Afghanistan (127th). But Bhutan and Maldives were not included in the SPI survey.
The index puts Denmark on top with a score of 90.57 and US in the 18th and China 83rd position. ‘Very Low Social Progress’ countries include Yemen with a score of 43.46, Guinea (43.40), Niger (42.97), Angola (40.73), Chad (35.69), Afghanistan (35.66) and Central African Republic (28.38), according to the report.
"Many Lower Middle Social Progress Tier countries are performing strongly compared to countries with similar income, including Nepal and Senegal, which have made great strides in governance and health,” the report stated adding that seven out of 25 countries in the Lower Middle Social Progress Tier performed best compared to others. "Nepal has low absolute performance (91st) but has performed strongly versus similar low-income peers."
Since the establishment of a multiparty democracy in the 1990s, Nepal has made great strides in health and education. Investments, especially in the health sector, accompanied by holistic reforms and decentralisation that helped mobilise community health volunteers to remote areas, have significantly improved health infrastructure.
"For example, Nepal facilitated improvements in antenatal care with incentives for pregnant mothers and institutional delivery," the report mentioned adding, "Access to piped water and sanitation also increased. Life expectancy has risen 12.1 years since 1990, one of the largest gains worldwide."
The lowest performing regions on ‘Tolerance and Inclusion’, South Asia and Eastern Africa, reveal contradictory trends. On average, South Asia has the lowest score (36.67) of any sub-region, yet Bangladesh and Nepal are among the most improved countries. Both showed strong improvements on tolerance for homosexuality. Nepal improved from 56 per cent of the population stating the country is a good place for gay and lesbian people to 83 per cent.
The 2017 Social Progress Index is an aggregate of measures 50 indicators including water and sanitation, advanced education, nutrition, shelter, personal safety, personal freedom, tolerance and inclusion, personal rights, health and wellness, access to ICT, ecosystem sustainability and access to basic knowledge.

Asia-Pacific countries should expand social protection: ADB

Many countries in Asia and the Pacific need to expand their social protection programs to ensure adequate coverage for most of their populations, according to two Asian Development Bank (ADB) reports released today.
The studies, 'The Social Protection Indicator (SPI): Assessing Results for Asia, and Social Protection Indicator (SPI): Assessing Results for the Pacific' incorporate data from 25 countries in Asia and 13 in the Pacific on central government support for social insurance, such as pensions and health insurance, social assistance like child welfare programmes and assistance to the elderly and labour market programmes, such as cash-for-work programmes.
“This updated, comprehensive set of indicators gives governments an effective mechanism for devising new and improved social protection programmes, which are an essential element of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and go to the heart of efforts to promote inclusive growth and reduce poverty,” said principal social development specialist with ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department Sri Wening Handayani.
The studies find that on average government expenditure on social protection programmes in Asian countries is equivalent to 3.7 per cent of GDP per capita and 1.9 per cent in the Pacific, in both cases far too low to ensure sufficient coverage for most of the population.
Social insurance continues to dominate social protection spending in Asia and the Pacific. Almost three-quarters of GDP per capita spent on social protection is allocated for social insurance. Social assistance accounts for only 0.9 per cent GDP per capita, while active labor market programs account for only 0.1 per cent GDP per capita.
For the first time, the 2016 SPI report assesses progress on social protection over time by tracking spending for 14 countries in Asia between 2004 and 2012. Mongolia, the People’s Republic of China, and Viet Nam made appreciable progress, while the low income countries, Cambodia and Nepal, made significant progress primarily through cash or in-kind transfers.
Social protection coverage levels remain weak in other countries, particularly in the Pacific, where little progress was made between 2009 and 2012 – the latest year for which data are available. Across Asia and the Pacific, national social protection systems fail to effectively reach poor and vulnerable persons, and deliver more benefits to men than women.
Social assistance in Asia-Pacific countries provides limited support to people with health problems who lack social insurance and to persons with disabilities. This highlights the importance of expanding coverage to support low-income and vulnerable groups, including the elderly and persons with disabilities.
The two reports recommend more ambitious active labour market programmes, as these tend to be small and weak in most countries, and that unemployment insurance and social assistance benefits be extended to include employment promotion measures such as vocational training and support for entrepreneurship.
Furthermore, it is important to expand the coverage of social assistance to support broader groups of the poor and vulnerable and move beyond the usual narrowly targeted programs that do not reach many people in need. The use of noncontributory cash benefits can help support vulnerable groups left out of formal social insurance schemes. The studies conclude that effective and inclusive contributory systems are crucial for building comprehensive social protection to address vulnerabilities at all stage of life.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including cofinancing of $10.7 billion.

Nepal betters in social protection

Nepal does moderately better, despite being a low-income country – in the South Asian region – with an Social Proetction Index (SPI) of 0.068 as it spends 2.1 per cent of GDP per capita of $463 according to 2009 data, on social protection, where as countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, and India spend less than two per cent of GDP on social protection and have relatively low SPIs of 0.051 or lower, according to a report.
However, the 19 countries, including Nepal that have SPIs lower than 0.100 – less than 10 per cent of poverty-line expenditures or 2.5 per cent of GDP per capita – would would have to increase expenditures on social protection substantially to have a suitable SPI, said the report ‘The Social Protection Index: Assesing Results for Asia and the Pacific,’ published by the Asian Development Bank today.
Almost universally, their expenditures in 2009 were less than three per cent of GDP, it said, adding that it is among five low-income countries – like Nepal Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Tajikistan, whose low-incomes are likely to constrain their ability to mobilise the necessary revenue – that progress on social protection needs to be accelerated. “However, among the low-income countries Nepal ranks second in SPI ranking to Kyrgyz Republic.”
Among the South Asian countries, Nepal’s SPI index (0.068) comes third after Sri Lanka (0.121) and Maldives (0.073), whereas India (0.051), Pakistan (0.047), Afghanistan (0.046), Bangladesh (0.043) and Bhutan (0.036) lags behind Nepal.
Some of the countries for which spending on pensions – public or private – represented more than half of all social protection spending in 2009 are Nepal, Azerbaijan, Fiji, Georgia, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Pakistan, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam.

However, Nepal is moving in the opposite direction, progressively lowering criteria for eligibility for social pensions (noncontributory), including the retirement age, to increase access and extend benefits to more vulnerable groups, stated the report that has listed Japan with 0.416 SPI at the top as it spends some 19.2 per cent of its total $39,714 GDP per capita at current price in 2009.

Nepal Score Card

Social Protection Index, 2009

Overall SPI – 0.068

Social Protection Index (Unweighted)
Social insurance – 0.098

Social Assistance – 0.055

Labour Market programmes – 0.014

Social Protection Index (Weighted)
Social insurance – 0.039

Social Assistance – 0.028

Labour Market programmes – 0.001
Public health expenditure – 1.7 per cent of GDP
(Source: Asian Development Bank report, ‘The Social Protection Index: Assesing Results for Asia and the Pacific’.)

Asia and Pacific's 'missing middle' lacks vital social protection

Social protection systems in many fast-growing middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific are failing to support large numbers of poor and vulnerable people, leaving them exposed to risks and unexpected difficulties like unemployment, ill health, and natural disasters, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) study.

“There are many vulnerable groups, including women and informal sector workers, who can’t access unemployment, health or other social insurance but are also not poor enough to be eligible for social assistance such as cash transfers,” said director in ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department Bart Édes, on the release of the study, ‘The Social Protection Index: Assesing Results for Asia and the Pacific.’
“Government social protection programmes need to be expanded to cover this unprotected ‘missing middle,’ who are at risk of falling into poverty in the case of an economic, environmental, or health shock of some kind.”

The study, which analyses government programmes providing social insurance, social assistance, and labor market support in 35 countries across Asia and the Pacific, shows varied spending patterns across income groups and subregions. A few countries - Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan - have Social Protection Indexes that are higher than 0.200, meaning that they are already investing eight per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection programmes. However, spending in most middle-income countries, including Armenia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Samoa, remains below three per cent of GDP, whereas in low income countries it stands at below two per cent except in Nepal that spends 2.1 per cent of GDP.

The study notes that because social insurance tends to dominate government social protection spending, benefits accrue disproportionately to men and non-poor. Poor and disadvantaged persons, particularly those working in the informal sector, benefit less because they lack access to social insurance. They are instead targeted by social assistance programmes that in many countries are fragmented and provide inadequate transfers.

Relatively little is being spent on labor market programmes like cash-for-work and skills development. This needs to be addressed amidst rising youth unemployment, critical skills gaps, and the disproportionate number of women who are unable to enter the formal labour market. Areas for government attention include employment guarantee schemes to construct or rebuild basic infrastructure, skills development, and technical and vocational education and training.

Countries at various stages of development need to set their own targets, taking into account available public resources. However, governments need to accelerate the review and reform of pension schemes in view of the region’s huge informal sector and rapid aging. Preventive social protection programs such as micro-insurance schemes to cushion the impact of variable weather patterns and natural disasters should also be explored, the study says.

Expanding social protection coverage requires mobilisation of additional public revenue which can be secured by broadening the tax base, improving tax collection, and improving public expenditure management. Governments should also encourage private firms to contribute more to social insurance programs. After many years of high growth, the Asia and Pacific region is in an excellent position to invest in better social protection systems that are attuned to the needs of its people.

The new Social Protection Index (SPI) was prepared by ADB and development partners; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the OECD Korea Policy Center; and the International Labour Organization. It provides detailed information on the extent of social protection public expenditure, population coverage, as well as the impact on specific groups, including the poor and women. It allows governments to assess the effectiveness of programs, and provides guidance for improvements to social protection systems.