The U.S. Spent $47 Billion in Foreign Aid -- More Than Any Other Country

In 2018, the U.S. spent $46.9 billion on foreign aid — more than what 48 states spent in federal funding that year, the latest year available.

Our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com compiled these findings in a new oversight report, U.S. Foreign Aid: How and Where the U.S. Spent $282.6 Billion (Fiscal Years 2013-2018).

The United States spent $282.6 billion on foreign aid from 2013 to 2018, more than any other country in the world, the report found. We launched our report on The National Desk at Sinclair Broadcast Group — reaching 190 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliated TV stations.

California and New York are the only states whose federal funding exceeded the total 2018 foreign aid - $92.4 billion and $56.8 billion, respectively.

Other state governments, from Ohio, which received $15 billion in federal aid, and New Jersey ($15.6 billion), to Florida ($27 billion) and Pennsylvania ($29 billion), made out with less than foreign countries did.

The top two 2018 recipients of American foreign aid were Afghanistan ($6 billion) and Israel ($3 billion). They were followed by Jordan ($1.7 billion), Egypt ($1.2 billion), and Iraq ($1.2 billion).

Sub-Saharan Africa received 27% of U.S. foreign aid, the most of any region in the world. The Middle East & North Africa combined received the second highest amount of U.S. tax dollars, 24%.

The top international organizations that received U.S. funding in FY2019 were World Food Program ($2.6 billion); United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ($1.7 billion); The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ($849 million); UNICEF ($672.9 million): and NATO ($624.5 million).

With the national debt at more than $28.5 trillion and counting, the U.S. may want to reconsider sending $46.9 billion in a single year to other countries.

The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.