The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) on Monday released data which explicitly unveiled that the GCC countries' experience in social protection marks an advanced regional and global model, combining social justice with economic efficiency.
In its report entitled "The Reality and Policies of Social Protection in the GCC Countries", GCC-Stat affirmed that investing in human capital remains the foremost and most reliable pathway to achieving stability, prosperity, and sustainable development, while entrenching a more inclusive and tight-knit Gulf society, both in the present and the future.
The report explained that GCC countries outperform across wide-ranging international indicators related to social protection, as all member states are classified within the very high human development category, according to the Human Development Index 2025.
This classification reflects their progress across core indicators, including health, education, and quality of life.GCC countries also exceed the global average in the Social Progress Index 2025, underscoring their leadership in enhancing human well-being and advancing comprehensive and inclusive development.
The report further noted that average per capita GDP in GCC countries in 2024 reached a level approximately three times higher than the global average, while all GCC states ranked among the top six positions in the Global Competitiveness Index at the regional level of West Asia and Africa.
This performance reflects the resilience of their economies and their capacity to finance extensive social protection networks with relatively high levels of public spending.It highlighted that 100 percent of GCC populations have access to education, healthcare, clean water, and electricity, and that GCC countries are free of slums or inadequate housing, compared to 24.7 percent globally.
This milestone confirms the comprehensiveness of social policies and the effectiveness of service infrastructure, reinforcing the region's standing as an advanced model in urban planning and equitable access to adequate housing.
According to the report, government expenditure on social protection in GCC countries ranged between 19.2 percent and 22.9 percent of total government spending in 2022, indicating the prioritization of investment in people as a fundamental driver of economic growth and social stability.
GCC-Stat stated that social protection systems in GCC countries cover all stages of the life cycle, beginning with childhood- where the civil registration rate of children under the age of five reached 100 percent, compared to 77.2 percent globally- progressing through working age via unemployment insurance programs, work injury coverage, and maternity and paternity benefits, and extending into old age through mandatory and generous pension systems, with retirement replacement rates reaching 100 percent of the contributory wage in some countries.
The report indicated that the total number of insured persons under pension systems in GCC countries exceeded 15 million, while the total number of retirees surpassed 985,000, alongside more than 497,000 beneficiary heirs, with total annual insurance benefits exceeding USD 31 billion. This reflects the scale and socio-economic impact of these systems.The report also shed light on the Insurance Protection Extension Initiative as one of the most prominent outcomes of Gulf social and economic integration.The number of GCC citizens covered by pension and social insurance systems in GCC countries other than their home states reached approximately 34,000 citizens in 2023, representing growth of more than 330 percent compared to 2007- an unmistakable indicator of the success of the GCC Common Market in strengthening the social rights of Gulf citizens.