This report is the first of a series whose chief aim is to present the results of regular statistical monitoring of the state and developments of social security in the world. The series will look at:

• The scope, extent, levels and quality of coverage by various social security branches;
• The scale of countries’ investments in social security measured by size and structure of social security expenditure and sources of its financing; and
• The effectiveness and efficiency of social security systems in reaching various national social policy objectives as well as other impacts of the policies which may be of special interest.

It is based to a large extent on information and statistics collected within the ILO Social Security Inquiry and in this respect it may be seen as a continuation of the reports produced over past decades (since the 1950s) by the ILO on the cost of social security, but with broader ambitions.

Such reports will be in the future published periodically, with fixed sections and topics (i.e. focus on social security coverage and a defined set of tables presented in annex) and chapters featuring special topics (i.e. in this first report: Responding to crisis with social security).