Situation and Priorities

Social protection situation

Cambodia is facing critical challenge of advancing human development by building a social protection system that is inclusive, effective, sustainable, gender-responsive, and resilient with economic and external shocks.

In the last two decades Cambodia has achieved significant progress in income, human capital development, and economic and environmental resilience. Cambodia is scheduled to graduate from the Least Developed Country status by the end of 2029. However, Cambodia is facing challenges in job quality and labour standards and is also exposed to an increasing degree of geopolitical risks which could adversely impact the labour market.

In 2019, 17.8 per cent of the population lived below the national poverty line. The percentage of working poor in Cambodia is estimated at 14.1 per cent in 2024, which is the highest in the region. Informal employment is prevailing in Cambodia. Based on the 2019 Labour Force Survey, 89.4 per cent of the employed population is working informally, lacking basic social protection and job security.

Since the 2000s, Cambodia has made significant progress in developing its social security system. The current Law on Social Security Schemes, adopted in 2019, provides four benefit schemes, including pensions, health care, occupational risk (employment injury), and unemployment. As of 2026, the unemployment benefit scheme has not yet been implemented. In terms of social protection coverage, while 58.0 per cent of population is covered by health insurance, only 20.8 per cent of the population is covered by at least one social protection benefit.

A crucial development in 2023 was the promulgation of The Voluntary Healthcare Scheme for Self-Employed Workers and Dependent of Workers (Sub-Decree 280) in August 2023 and associated regulations for the operationalization of the scheme. This scheme closes the legal gap which existed since the introduction of NHI in 2017 that prevented 3.5 million self-employed workers and an estimated 4 million dependents of workers to access to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). After two-year implementation, the ILO is conducting an evaluation of the voluntary health insurance scheme in 2026.

The Social Security Regulator (SSR) was established in 2022 to ensure transparency and accountability of the social protection system.

Established in 2023, the National Social Assistance Fund (NSAF) acts as a single social assistance operator under the technical guardian of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) and financial guardian of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The NSAF manages social assistance programs outlined in the Family Package and the National Social Protection Policy Framework 2016-2025 (NSPPF), along with the current civil servant pension fund and the veteran fund.

For the biennium 2026-27, the ILO is supporting the Royal Government of Cambodia’s endeavours to expand social protection coverage and designing new benefits, particularly for informal and rural workers in line with the adopted national strategies. Specific interventions will include the ILO technical support in evidence-based policy development, capacity building to improve the self-governance and service efficiency, promotion of social dialogue in the policy discussion, and advocacy that promotes greater public interest and participation in the social protection.

Government and social partner priorities

In 2023, the RGC launched the “Pentagonal Strategy – Phase I”, serving as a roadmap to achieving the Kingdom’s development vision.

The Pentagonal Strategy lists priority goals relevant to the Cambodian social protection system:

• Expansion of healthcare services towards universal health coverage;
• Provision of vocational and technical training for youth from impoverished and vulnerable households;
• Institutionalization of national social assistance programmes for vulnerable and at-risk households during economic crises and emergencies;
• Formulation and accelerated implementation of the Informal Economy Development Strategy, and sharing the benefits of formal social protection systems.

In 2024, the Royal Government of Cambodia adopted the National Social Protection Policy Framework 2024–2035 and the Roadmap Towards Universal Health Coverage 2024–2035, establishing a long-term framework for the development of social protection aimed at promoting social well-being and sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

In addition, the National Strategy on the Development of the Informal Economy 2023–2028 identifies the informal economy as a key driver of livelihoods and aims to facilitate the gradual formalization of informal enterprises by improving access to essential services, including registration in the NSSF social security scheme, free vocational training and access to finance.

As a pathfinder country of the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, Cambodia has developed a National Roadmap that includes expanded social protection coverage, including progress towards universal health coverage, as a key outcome.

Social protection is one of the key pillars of Cambodia’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2024–2028, which supports the advancement of social justice and the promotion of decent work, implemented in close coordination with government ministries, the UN Country Team and international development partners.

Workspaces

• Improving Social Protection and Promoting Employment. An ILO/EU project
  25.01.2011
• Protecting Garment Sector Workers: Occupational Safety and Health and Income Support in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
  28.01.2022