Melis Guven, Agastya Yeachuri, and Mohamed Almenfi © June 2025 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 1818 H Street NWWashington, DC 20433Telephone: 202-473-1000Internet:www.worldbank.org Disclaimer This work is a product of the staff of the World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work donot necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. TheWorld Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the data included in this work and does not assumeresponsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepancies in the information, or liability with respect to the use of or failure touse the information, methods, processes, or conclusions set forth. The boundaries, colors, denominations, links/footnotes, andother information shown in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status ofany territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The citation of works authored by others does not meanthe World Bank endorses the views expressed by those authors or the content of their works. Nothing herein shall constituteor be construed or considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of the World Bank, all of whichare specifically reserved. The income group and region classifications used for this report are based on the FY25 version of the World Bank Country andLending Groups classification. The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this workmay be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to: World Bank Publications, The World BankGroup, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA. Fax: 202-522-2625; email:pubrights@worldbank.org Attribution Please cite the work as follows: Guven, Melis, Agastya Yeachuri, and Mohamed Almenfi. 2025. “Global Insights on SocialRegistries: Coverage and Beyond.” World Bank, Washington, DC. Editor: Robert ZimmermannCover art: Lidiia Shapoval/Adobe StockDesign: Nita Congress All dollar amounts are US dollars unless otherwise indicated. Global Insights onSocialRegistries Coverage and Beyond ForewordivAcknowledgmentsv Establishing the context1 Insights 1: Social registries have beenevolving since the 2000s52: Many developing countries have established social registries73: More than 1 billion people are covered by social registries104: Countries are shifting from static to dynamic social registries135: Interoperability fosters social registries as integrated gateways156: Dynamic social registries show lower data collection costs177: Social registries are crucial in emergencies and for adaptive social protection198: Most social registries are administered by central institutions219: Data protection and privacy mechanisms are not universal2310: External financing supports social registries in many countries24 Bringing it all together25 Appendixes27 A: The geographical scope of the Social Registry Database27B: Data tables34 Figures 1Social protection delivery chain22Integrated social registries in support of assessments of applicants for multiple23Trends in establishment of social registries across regions64Establishment of social registries, by income group classification8 5Establishment of social registries, by region86Coverage by social registries across countries, % of population117Method of updating data in social registries across regions, by number ofcountries148Method of updating data in social registries across income groups, by numberofcountries149Level of interoperability of social registries, by region, by number of countries1510Number of programs supported by social registries, by country1611Cost per household of social registry data collection, by method of update1712Number of countries using social registries to support beneficiary identificationand COVID-19–related social assistance, by region2013Coverage expansion (number of individuals, millions) of social registries duringthe pandemic, by method of data collection2014Use and distribution across regions of types of institutional arrangements forsocial registries2115Existence of data protection and privacy mechanisms, countries with socialregistries23 Maps 1Geographical scope of the Social Registry Database42Countries receiving external support to implement social registries24 Tables B1Trends in social registries across regions, by year of establishment34B2 Establishment of social registries across income groups36B3 Establishment of social registries across regions36B4 Coverage of social registries across countries37B5 Method of updating data in social registries across regions and income groups38B6 Level of interoperability of social registries