“What would happen if, for just one day, a country had perfectly clean, connected, and reliable data?”
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection recognised the need to improve and modernise its social protection system, underpinned by clean, reliable and connected data. This sparked a drive for national transformation that fundamentally reshaped their public policy, modernised their government operations, and improved the daily lives of their citizens. This transformation led to the development of the Centralized Electronic Information System (CEIS) and their e-Social portal.
The new system centralises over 149 services and connects more than 80 public and private entities. Through the utilisation of AI technology, paired with real-time data checks and automated service delivery, the processing times seen for social welfare claims have decreased by 90% and have improved service satisfaction by 95%.
Azerbaijan’s Problem
Before Azerbaijan created the CEIS, the country’s social protection system was heavily reliant on paper-based, fragmented processes.
These typically resulted in citizens having to visit several offices, complete repeated forms, and navigate cumbersome procedures.
While this was the case, critical citizen data was fragmented and scattered across databases that were not connected. This fragmentation across services meant that officials could not see the full picture of an individual’s circumstances.
One case study example illustrates the impact of this fragmented system: an individual was recorded as blind in one database, while another showed them working in a physically demanding role as an underwater welder.
With issues like these creating a negative impact on public trust, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan set out to confront these issues and create a way of working that ensured that data could work seamlessly for both citizens and the government.
Azerbaijan’s Solution
The transformation began by establishing a strong institutional and legal foundation for improved data collection. Several laws were highlighted as a relevant basis for secure and effective digital governance.
From the legal foundation came the internal system, where the Ministry took a crucial step forward by developing the CEIS to serve as the backbone for centralised social data, supporting a population of 10 million people across the country.
The CEIS itself was established under the 634th Presidential Decree, which gave the mandate to unify data across the private sector, public agencies, and the ministry.
Data Quality & Fraud Detection
Cleaning data through systematic cross-checks was also a critical part of the solution, as inconsistencies between multiple systems would need verifying and correcting. This process helped uncover errors in pensions and social benefits, including miscalculated survivor pensions and incorrectly recorded pension capital. It also helped identify citizens who were eligible for benefits who has never applied. With further proactive service delivery, it was ensured that these individuals obtained the benefits that they were entitled to.
The use of AI has further strengthened the development of CEIS. Since 2025, Azerbaijan has used advanced AI analytics to identify data inconsistencies and help prevent fraud. The e-Social portal also supports CEIS by providing a single, unified access point for social services, allowing individuals to access their personal information instantly and track their entitlements and service status.
CEIS Innovation Outcomes
Azerbaijan’s digital bridge has become a catalyst for optimising data management in the country, enabling real-time information exchange and cross-checking across public and private institutions. Originally launched in 2014 to connect state bodies, it has created a unified digital environment where government agencies can validate records and information. For providers, operators and insurers, it enables access and sharing of verified data through a single, trusted channel.
Now, the country’s digital bridge enables seamless, widespread data exchange, with 150 information systems supported by the platform as of early 2026. The system also boasts a 99% success rate and has an average of 1.5 million transactions per day. It is now one of the most trusted and stable pillars of digital infrastructure within the country.
This is further reinforced by the ecosystem created through CEIS and the Digital Bridge, which ensures data is not only shared, but consistently cross-checked for accuracy.
As a result of having fully integrated data the following outcomes were achieved:
- The number of fraudulent disability claims decreased from 614,000 in 2020 to 488,000 in 2023.
- Citizen application processing times decreased by 90%.
- Service delivery saw improvement with 44 services provided to external organisations.
- Service delivery improvements resulted in 861 workbooks used within the system for analysis.
- Query performance increased with 13,190 queries handled.
- The average query time was under 8 hours.
- Each employee processes an average of 1,100 queries per day.
The impact of improved data collection and sharing has been significant. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population used data-led innovation to move from a fragmented, manual system to a more citizen-centred and data-driven way of working. Perfectly clean and connected data has not only improved systems and services, but also helped improve lives, turning theoretical ambition into measurable national impact.
