According to the United Nations, Yemen ranks 168th out of 177 countries on the human development index (HDI), a measure of life expectancy, education, and standard of living.^[1] Yemen has the lowest HDI rank among the Arab states.^[1] Several welfare programs are in place, but they have generally been considered inadequate to meet the needs of Yemen's impoverished citizens (estimated to exceed 45 percent of the total population).^[1]

The main social assistance program is the Social Welfare Fund, initially established to compensate for reductions in economic subsidies.^[1] This program provides 650,000 beneficiaries direct cash payments capped at US$11 per month and lump-sum payments for emergencies.^[1] In July 2005, the government announced it would extend coverage to an additional 200,000 beneficiaries.^[1] The Social Development Fund and the Public Works Project were established almost 10 years ago with World Bank funds.^[1] These programs attempt to raise living standards through various community development, capacity-building, and micro-financing programs; it has been difficult, however, to obtain the necessary commercial bank credit to make these programs viable.^[1] In early 2005, Yemen's parliament adopted a government budget requiring that the government provide additional resources for social safety nets to lessen the impact of economic reforms that might result in higher consumer prices.^[1]