Asia

In Asia some countries have made major efforts to extend coverage beyond the formal sector.Nepal has introduced a basic non-contributory pension for all those aged 70 years and over.

• Sri Lanka, for example, has a scheme covering farmers and fishers that has achieved substantial coverage rates (57 per cent of the farmers and 42 per cent of the fishers).
• India, too, has made efforts to cover the informal economy through the National Old-Age Pension Scheme, financed by central and state resources, which reaches one fourth of all older people: about half of pensioners who live in poverty.
• Nepal has introduced a basic non-contributory pension for all those aged 70 years and over.
• Thailand implemented a similar allowance for all older people as a temporary anti-crisis measure, but is now debating whether to replace it by a permanent basic pension scheme.
• Relatively high coverage is enjoyed by the populations of Mongolia and countries of the former Soviet Union, but low social security expenditure in some of these countries, as well as other evidence, indicates that actual pensions paid are very low and often not sufficient to keep older people out of poverty.
• In Japan the indicator is only below 100 per cent because many Japanese retire much later than the age of 60.

Africa

In Africa the lowest coverage levels (10% at most) to pension entitlement are found in the elderly population of Africa. In countries with a longer tradition in social security and a larger formal economy (such as Tunisia or Algeria), the situation is significantly better.

Latin America

In Latin America and the Caribbean, a region with a long history of social security, coverage in the majority of cases reflects the proportion of those working in the formal economy: 30–60 per cent.