Industrialization is accompanied by an influx of workers from areas with traditional ways of life into urban centres, and this change gives rise to feelings of insecurity. The workers may fear that sickness or accident, invalidity or old age will deprive them of their means of existence, as they can no longer easily turn to a family or communal group for support and aid.
The low state of social security in the developing countries is due mainly to their poverty. This in turn arises from the imbalance in the wealth of the population. Lack of educational democratization, and a class system of a privileged few and underprivileged many, creates serious obstacles to the institution and maintenance of social security insurance and welfare service programmes as an inadequate infrastructure is maintained. The absence of unemployment benefits forces people to find some way of earning money, for example as a shoeshine boy. Labour in the informal sector is typically characterized by low levels of productivity and income, and must face a high degree of instability of employment. Remuneration tends to be too low to provide workers with an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families.
In addition, the lack of realistic statistical data hampers the preparation of general, rational local and national social service plans. Such data is needed by governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, such as trade unions, cooperatives, employers programmes, charities, private hospitals and schools, banks and developmental consortia.