Since it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste has demonstrated commendable leadership in rebuilding the country's economy with reasonably steady degrees of poverty reduction. The nation's unwavering commitment to social protection is reflected in a national system providing many benefits and services. These programs included pensions for veterans, the elderly, and the disabled and a conditional cash transfer program targeting vulnerable households with children. Other benefits and services were introduced in due course, such as disaster recovery programs, child protection services, emergency support to individuals and vulnerable families, support services to gender-based and domestic violence victims, and support to prisoners. In 2016, a national contributory social security general scheme was launched, mandatory for employed workers and voluntary for self-employed and independent workers. This report presents an in-depth analysis of Timor-Leste's social protection system, which builds on the World Bank's long-standing analytical and advisory support for the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion. Envisioned as inputs to Timor-Leste's National Strategy for Social Protection, this report also serves as a deep-dive into the recently launched Timor-Leste Public Expenditure Review, and it does so by providing extensive analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of Timor-Leste 'ss social protection spending. The analysis also looks into the existing programs' coverage, adequacy, and delivery mechanisms as the basis for policy recommendations that the Government of Timor-Leste could consider in implementing the country's first National Strategy for Social Protection.