This report posits that care is a public good that is fundamental to our societies and economies, with benefits that extend beyond those who receive it.1 Yet although care is a public good, in most societies the responsibility for providing care falls overwhelmingly on families. Within families, it falls predominantly on women and girls, restricting their opportunities to engage in paid employment, education, leisure and self– care. The availability of care services and public policies that could redistribute some of the care burden remain underdeveloped in many countries, including in the Arab States.2 At the same time, changing demographic trends, including declining fertility rates, population aging and the increasing nuclearization of families, are challenging care– provision systems that rely on women’s unpaid labour.3 Perhaps more than any other event in recent history, the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic has exposed the wide gaps in care policies and services that leave women and their families vulnerable to negative social, economic and health outcomes.4 Addressing these gaps will require concerted policy efforts across the region. Women play an outsized role in the care economy in the Arab States, performing 4.7 times more unpaid care work than men – the highest female– to–male ratio anywhere in the world.5 Furthermore, while fewer than a quarter (22 per cent) of women in the region are in the paid labour force,6 over half (53 per cent) of employed women work in care– related jobs, also the highest of any world region.7 Tapping into the potential of the paid care economy – a sector that has received relatively little policy focus in the region – could thus be an important way to support women’s economic empowerment. This report is the Arab States regional companion to UN Women’s global report Progress of the World’s Women 2019–2020: Families in a changing world. Building on unique analysis of the care economy in the region, it produces evidence–based policy recommendations for investing in the care economy in the Arab States. It details the demographic and social context of care provision in the Arab States, the status of key care policies and services related to paid leave, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and elder care, and includes four country case studies – from Egypt, Jordan, the State of Palestine and Tunisia – that provide in–depth data analysis on both unpaid and paid care work and make national policy recommendations.