Foreign aid
How much aid does Belgium give abroad?
In 2024, Belgium gave € 3 billion in development and humanitarian aid. That is about € 254 per inhabitant. 54% of it went through international organisations, such as the UN, the World Bank and the EU.
Good to know (click to read)
- This is official development assistance as countries report it to the OECD: grants and cheap loans for development and humanitarian aid. Military aid is not included.
- These are the amounts actually paid out in a year, not promises. The OECD counts in dollars; we convert to euro at that year’s average rate.
- Part of every EU country’s money goes through the EU. So do not add up a country’s figures and the EU’s: you would count that part twice.
- Figures for the latest year are sometimes still provisional.
Per year
Development and humanitarian aid in total, in euro of that year.
Which countries received the most in 2024?
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Congo - Kinshasa € 107.4 million
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Ukraine € 87.6 million
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Rwanda € 36.4 million
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Niger € 28 million
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Palestinian Territories € 27.8 million
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Uganda € 25 million
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Senegal € 23.4 million
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Burundi € 22.7 million
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Burkina Faso € 21.3 million
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Mali € 20.5 million
Only what went directly to a country. Money through international organisations is not included here.
Through which organisations in 2024?
- European Commission [EC] € 848 million
- International Development Association [IDA] € 377.2 million
- Other Multilateral € 98.4 million
- Other UN € 70.2 million
- European Development Fund [EDF] € 38.7 million
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development [IBRD] € 37.9 million
- African Development Fund [AfDF] € 34.1 million
- IDA-MDRI € 20.9 million
In focus: Ukraine
| Year | Development aid Belgium | EU development aid | All EU spending there |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | € 3.4 million | € 1.4 billion | – |
| 2021 | € 3.3 million | € 998.4 million | – |
| 2022 | € 59.9 million | € 10.1 billion | € 1.8 billion |
| 2023 | € 70.9 million | € 19 billion | € 785.8 million |
| 2024 | € 87.6 million | € 17.5 billion | € 3.6 billion |
| 2025 | – | – | € 3.5 billion |
"All EU spending there" comes from the European Commission’s transparency system: including loans and reconstruction support, such as the Ukraine Facility. Do not add up the columns.
Projects of Belgian development cooperation
- Reconstruction program Ukraine, BE-Relieve Enabel - the Belgian development agency · since January 2025 € 150 million
- BIO - Capital contribution earmarked for Ukraine BIO - Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries - BIO · since July 2024 € 9 million
- Contribution to the Special Program for Ukraine and Moldova Recovery (SPUR) - IDA Crisis Facility- Worldbank Worldbank Group: IDA/AID International Development Association - IDA · since June 2024 € 10 million
- Contribution to Country Based Pooled fund for Ukraine ( Ukraine Humanitarian Fund) managed by OCHA 2024 UN UNOCHA - Office of Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs · since May 2024 € 7 million
- ICRC activities in Ukraine INGO International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC - ICRC · since March 2024 € 8 million
- Relief Food Assistance under Grain from Ukraine Initiative UN World Food Programme WFP_PAM - WFP · since December 2023 € 10 million
- WFP Activities in Ukraine: Provision of emergency food and cash response to populations affected by the war UN World Food Programme WFP_PAM - WFP · since December 2023 € 3 million
- Attaining a favourable protection environment and realizing basic rights through community-based protection and multi-purpose cash assistance in Ukraine UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR · since October 2023 € 3 million
- Vrijwillige geoormerkte bijdrage aan IOM voor het project 'Sustainable Water Supply System Recovery for Upstream communities affected by the Kakhovka dam breach' International Organisation for Migration IOM · since October 2023 € 2 million
- World Bank Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF) Worldbank Group: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - IBRD · since July 2023 € 3 million
- OCHA - Financement 2023 du « Country Based Pooled Fund » (CBPF) Ukraine géré par OCHA UN UNOCHA - Office of Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs · since January 2023 € 7 million
- UNFPA - Appel Ukraine 2023 UN Population Fund UNFPA · since January 2023 € 3 million
All support to Ukraine, including military
According to the Kiel Institute, from 24 January 2022 to 31 August 2026. This counts what Belgium allocated: delivered or firmly planned.
Military
€ 2.8 billion
Humanitarian
€ 412 million
Financial
€ 49 million
Promised in total (including what is still to come): € 4.8 billion. For military support, Belgium ranks 9 of the 27 EU countries.
Source: Kiel Institute, Ukraine Support Tracker (release 31). Based on government announcements, not official figures. Military aid is not part of the development aid above. See the Ukraine Support Tracker
What the EU itself spent outside the EU in 2025
Part of it comes from the contribution of Belgium to the EU. So do not add it to the figures above. It is not only aid: loans, reconstruction and, for example, research cooperation with the United Kingdom or Switzerland are also included.
- Ukraine € 3.5 billion
- Czechia € 1.9 billion
- United Kingdom € 730.4 million
- Türkiye € 660 million
- Palestinian Territories € 235.9 million
- Norway € 209.3 million
- Switzerland € 167.1 million
- Lebanon € 124.5 million
Sources: OECD, official development assistance (DAC2A); European Commission, Financial Transparency System (CC BY 4.0); Eurostat, exchange rates; Kiel Institute, Ukraine Support Tracker (totals per country). Projects: FPS Foreign Affairs, DGD (IATI, ODC-PDDL).