The United States spends around $63 billion to $72 billion annually on foreign aid. This makes the US the world’s largest donor of foreign aid.
In 2023, the US provided $63.7 billion in economic aid and $8.3 billion in military aid. In 2022, the US spent $58 billion on foreign aid, which was 1.1% of the federal budget.
The US has spent more than $3.75 trillion on foreign aid since the end of World War II.
How the US spends foreign aid
International development
Programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as programs for maternal and children’s health
Humanitarian assistance
Programs such as International Disaster Assistance, Migration and Refugee Assistance, and Food for Peace
International security assistance
Programs to strengthen the military and law enforcement capabilities of US partners
How foreign aid has changed over time
Foreign aid peaked at 3% of US GDP during the Marshall Plan after World War II
During the Cold War, foreign aid ranged from 1% to just less than 0.5% of US GDP
In recent decades, foreign aid has hovered around less than 0.33% of US GDP.
“You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are
nothing.” - Thomas Sowell