Uruguay: Coverage of social safety net programs (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Uruguay's coverage of social safety net programs (% of population) fell 2.13 percentage points on 2021 (from 47.85% to 45.72%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2021), the average change was +0.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.26 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 15.25 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.92 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 54% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2022, Uruguay had the 7th highest value of the 11 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Uruguay in the 2022 ranking

• Indonesia — 3rd of 11: 54.56%
• Paraguay — 4th of 11: 50.09%
• Costa Rica — 5th of 11: 49.14%
• Armenia — 7th of 11: 42.01%
• Argentina — 8th of 11: 33.2%
• Colombia — 9th of 11: 31.41%

What this measures

Coverage of social safety net programs shows the percentage of population participating in cash transfers and last resort programs, noncontributory social pensions, other cash transfers programs (child, family and orphan allowances, birth and death grants, disability benefits, and other allowances), conditional cash transfers, in-kind food transfers (food stamps and vouchers, food rations, supplementary feeding, and emergency food distribution), school feeding, other social assistance programs (housing allowances, scholarships, fee waivers, health subsidies, and other social assistance) and public works programs (cash for work and food for work). Estimates include both direct and indirect beneficiaries.

Limitations: When interpreting ASPIRE performance indicators based on household surveys, it is important to note that the extent to which information on specific transfers and programs is captured in the household surveys can vary a lot across countries. Moreover, household surveys do not capture the universe of social protection programs in the country, in best practice cases just the largest programs. As a consequence, ASPIRE indicators are not fully comparable across program categories and countries; however, they provide approximate measures of social protection systems performance.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 13 values

Coverage of social safety net programs (% of population) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 33.2% (2022)
• Bolivia — 96.8% (2021)
• Brazil — 28.1% (2022)
• Colombia — 31.41% (2022)
• Costa Rica — 49.14% (2022)
• Dominican Republic — 47.9% (2021)
• Ecuador — 28.13% (2022)
• El Salvador — 87.68% (2022)
• Honduras — 29.28% (2019)

More social protection & labor data for Uruguay

• Net migration — -1,338 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 3,195 (2025)
• Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) — 7.34% (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 126 (2025)
• Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 8.86% (2025)
• Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 6.04% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate) — 41.62% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Uruguay's coverage of social safety net programs (% of population)?

45.72% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is down 2.34 percentage points from 48.06% in 2008. The highest value was 59.54% in 2019 and the lowest 44.29% in 2020.

How does Uruguay rank?

7th highest of 11 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in coverage of social safety net programs (% of population) unusual for Uruguay?

In 2022, Uruguay's coverage of social safety net programs (% of population) fell 2.13 percentage points on 2021 (from 47.85% to 45.72%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2021), the average change was +0.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator per_sa_allsa.cov_pop_tot, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection - Indicators of Resilience and Equity, World Bank (WB), uri: datatopics.worldbank.org/aspire/, note: Data are based on national representative household surveys. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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