US Foreign Aid 10-19-24

The US spends $1.1 trillion dollars each year on Foreign Aid to 180 countries. US Federal Revenue is $4T. US Federal Spending is $6T. 

The United States allots billions of dollars in foreign assistance to other countries every year. According to UN sources, the US owes $1.1 billion to the UN's regular budget for 2023 and 2024 plus additional arrears. According to UN sources, the US owes $1.1 billion to the UN's regular budget for 2023 and 2024 plus additional arrears.

In 2022, U.S. foreign aid spending surpassed $70 billion in appropriated funds for the first time in 70 years, new data shows, fueled by continued support of Israel and a spike in funding for Ukraine amid the country’s war with Russia.

That recent high isn’t the result of a slow climb, nor is it due to inflation. In constant dollars, U.S. foreign aid obligations jumped from $56.3 billion in 2021 to $70.4 billion in 2022, the latest year for which final data is available from a federal tracker. That marks an increase of more than 25%, and there are only three years on record when the U.S. devoted more to foreign aid: 1947, 1949 and 1951, when the global landscape looked very different following World War II and the establishment of the United Nations.

In 1951 specifically, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were among the largest recipients. In 2022, Israel and Ukraine topped the list of nearly 180 countries receiving funds globally.

The latest pattern will be one to monitor going forward, with Israel embroiled in a war against the terror group Hamas in Gaza and Ukraine’s defense against Russia now ongoing for approximately two years.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader