Social and welfare issues
Effective social policy protects individuals and their families, and helps them lead a fulfilling life. We identify policies that help individuals and their families, and make societies and economies work more effectively.
Join Ministers & global leaders at the OECD in Paris on 5-6 February 2020 to discuss how to prevent, address, & eradicate violence against women.
EVENT: Social dialogue for a better future of work, 4th February 2020. Find out more...
Pensions at a Glance: A range of indicators for comparing pension policies and their outcomes between OECD countries. Learn more...
How can we improve social protection so that everyone benefits? Click to see how 16 citizens from around the world answer that question.
Governments need to do more to support middle-class households who are struggling to maintain their lifestyles as their stagnating incomes fail to keep up with the rising costs of housing and education. Read more...
The OECD Centre for Opportunity and Equality: Evidence-based, policy-oriented research on inequalities
Action is needed to tackle stalled social mobility. See the latest findings...
Policy-oriented research on enhancing child well-being and promoting equal opportunities among children
Progress on gender equality far too slow. See the new report The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle.
Better Life Initiative: Measuring well-being and progress
The OECD Family Database provides cross-national indicators on family outcomes and family policies
Population ageing and rising inequality will hit younger generations hard. New report on preventing ageing unequally
Discover...
Gender equality is not just a moral imperative, but is also key to the creation of stronger, more sustainable and more inclusive economies. Find out more...
Data
Find a wide range of data on social issues and compare how other countries are doing.
- Affordable Housing Database
- Child Well-Being Data Portal
- Family Database
- Gender Data Portal
- How's Life? 2017: Measuring Well-being
- Income Distribution and Poverty Database
- Pensions data
- Social Expenditure Indicators
- Social Benefit Recipients Database
- Society at a Glance
- Tax and benefit indicators
- Wealth Distribution Database
What's new?
- Better data and policies to fight homelessness in the OECD (28 Jan)
- EVENT: OECD High-Level Conference on Ending Violence Against Women (5-6 Feb 2020)
- EVENT: Social Dialogue for a better future of work (The Global Deal, 4th Feb)
- Affordable housing – a growing concern for people and governments
- Countries should strengthen pension systems to adapt to changing world of work (27 Nov)
- Treating all children equally? Why policies should adapt to evolving family realities (19 Nov)
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Compare your income
How much do you earn compared with others in your country? Do you feel rich, poor, or just average? Use this tool and found out how your income really compares.
