Social protection of the population as the most important factor socio-economic development in the context of digitalization

Social protection of the population should be considered as the most important factor in the socio-economic development of the country, since it is social protection that characterizes the satisfaction of the population with the quality of public services. This is especially true in times of crisis, pandemic and other adverse conditions. In the article, the author considers social protection as an economic category and gives the author’s interpretation of this concept; distinguishes and clarifies such concepts as “social protection”, “social assistance”, “social security”, highlights the unity of these categories and their distinctive features. The article presents the monitoring of the situation in the field of social protection of the population, the analysis of support measures within the Udmurt Republic and the Russian Federation. In modern trends in the digitalization of the economy, a special place is given to the provision of public services, including social protection services, in electronic form.