Society at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2022
This fifth edition of Society at a Glance: Asia/Pacific provides an overview of social indicators for the region. Quantitative evidence on social indicators such as poverty, social expenditures, and demographic trends across countries in Asia and the Pacific helps economies identify where they can learn from the experience of other countries. Chapter 1 introduces this volume and provides readers with a guide to help them interpret OECD Social Indicators. The remainder of the publication presents the indicators in a standardised format: one page of figures and accompanying text, pointing the reader to sources and potential caveats with measurement issues. The indicators are grouped into five chapters: general context, self-sufficiency, equity, health and social cohesion. Each chapter holds five indicators, but the health chapter includes an additional indicator to illustrate recent trends in cases and deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public social expenditure
In 2018/2019, public social expenditure‑to-GDP ratios varied considerably across the Asia/Pacific region. However, they were generally well below the OECD average (). Average public spending on social protection in the Asia/Pacific region was about one‑third of the average in the OECD as a whole. Public social spending in Japan was about 22% of GDP, close to 20% in New Zealand while it was around 10% of GDP in China and Mongolia. By contrast, public spending on social protection is around 2% of GDP in Bangladesh, Lao PDR and Papua New Guinea.
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