How much aid goes to the Middle East and North Africa?
In 2022, bilateral donors disbursed $13.8 billion to fund development and humanitarian activities in the region. Here's how it was spent.
By Miguel Antonio Tamonan // 18 November 2024The Middle East and North Africa region — commonly referred to as MENA — is home to economic extremes. On the one hand, the region has some of the richest oil-producing economies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, it is home to some of the most volatile and fragile states, including Syria, Yemen, and the occupied Palestinian territories. Official sources have varying lists of countries belonging to MENA. Based on OECD data, there are a total of 14 ODA-eligible countries in the region. This includes Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territories, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. Despite their abundant natural resources, these countries still face social and economic challenges brought on by inflation, political instability, and natural calamities. We dug into the creditor reporting system, or CRS, to analyze the development and humanitarian aid landscape in MENA — from the largest bilateral donors, top recipient countries, and priority sectors. The figures are for 2022, the latest final data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. We also used the country development finance data for 2022 from the International Aid Transparency Initiative, or IATI, to identify the top bilateral and multilateral agencies and NGOs implementing development projects in the region during the same period. The 2023 data is also available. Furthermore, we identified some inconsistencies with IATI’s data, primarily the tagging of recipient organizations. For instance, some United Nations agencies were tagged as public sector instead of multilateral, while the U.S. Agency for International Development was sometimes identified as multilateral instead of bilateral. Where possible we identified the correct sector, but the figures should be treated with caution. What do the top-level figures say? OECD data shows that Development Assistance Committee donors spent $13.8 billion on development projects in MENA in 2022. This is 9.7% lower than what they spent in 2021. Donors also spent an additional $709.2 million in other official flows, or OOF, which is 64.9% more than the previous year. OOF are disbursements from DAC donors that do not meet the criteria for ODA. Around 14.1% of the total ODA to the region, worth $1.95 billion, went to Syria. Yemen ranked next, with $1.88 billion, then Iraq, with $1.66 billion, Morocco, with $1.6 billion, and Egypt, with $1.39 billion. Donors also spent $575.1 million on regional projects — $478.6 million for the Middle East and $96.5 million for North Africa. Who were the largest sources of aid? Germany was the region’s largest source of development aid, worth $3.9 billion, or more than a quarter of the total. Among its top recipients were Syria, with $664.8 million, Morocco, with $582.6 million, and Yemen, with $460.1 million. The U.S. ranked next, with $3.2 billion. Nearly a third of this, worth $986.7 million, went to Yemen. Other priority recipients were Syria, with $688.2 million, Jordan, with $329.2 million, and Lebanon, with $292.5 million. France also spent a significant amount for the region, amounting to $1.9 billion. Morocco received the largest portion, worth $652.5 million, then Egypt, with $363.1 million, Jordan, with $213.3 million, and Tunisia, with $165.3 million. The other top donors were Japan, with $1.8 billion, Canada, with $415 million, and the U.K., with $403.4 million. What were the priority sectors? Education emerged as the priority sector in MENA, receiving $1.9 billion, or 13.7% of the total. According to OECD, around 55% of the population of MENA is under 30 — higher than OECD’s 36% average. This means that with enough investment, the younger generation may drive the continent’s economy in the future. Of the total aid to education, around 36.9%, worth $694.2 million, came from Germany, $506.2 million from France, $243.4 million from the U.S., and $128.1 million from Japan. Morocco was the top recipient of aid for education, worth $417.6 million. Syria ranked next, with $235.6 million, Jordan, with $208.7 million, and Lebanon, with $200.9 million. Donors also spent 11.4% of their ODA, worth $1.6 billion, on emergency food assistance. The U.S. contributed half of the aid, worth $802.5 million, then Germany, with $565.9 million, and Canada, with $69.8 million. More than half of the emergency food assistance, worth $825.9 million, went to Yemen. Then Syria, with $365 million, Lebanon, with $119.6 million, and Jordan, with $117.6 million. Government and civil society ranked next among the top focus areas, also with $1.6 billion. Among donors, Germany spent the most on this sector, worth $401.9 million, followed by the U.S., with $351.9 million, France, with $155.8 million, and the U.K., with $118.7 million. The largest portion of aid for the government and civil society sector went to Iraq, worth $347.7 million, then Jordan, with $190.8 million, and the occupied Palestinian territories, with $139 million. Another $215.1 million went to regional projects in the Middle East. Who’s implementing development and humanitarian projects in North Africa? Based on IATI’s data, public and private donors spent $25.1 billion in MENA in 2022. This is higher than the ODA reported to OECD since the IATI data also included OOF and private development finance. The recipient organizations were a mix of bilateral and multilateral agencies and NGOs. A number of large bilateral recipients were the donors themselves. This included the U.S. Department of Defense, which implemented a total of $2.1 billion. This was likely channeled through embassies, diplomatic bureaus, and consular posts. United Nations agencies lead the multilaterals, with the World Food Programme receiving the largest share, worth $4.6 billion. The United Nations Development Programme ranked next, with $905.9 million, UNICEF, with $810.5 million, and the World Health Organization, with $228.6 million. The International Committee of the Red Cross was the leading implementing partner among NGOs, receiving $405.6 million. Then World Vision Lebanon, with $118.8 million, the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, with $35.9 million, and the Norwegian Refugee Council, with $35.3 million. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.
The Middle East and North Africa region — commonly referred to as MENA — is home to economic extremes. On the one hand, the region has some of the richest oil-producing economies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, it is home to some of the most volatile and fragile states, including Syria, Yemen, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Official sources have varying lists of countries belonging to MENA. Based on OECD data, there are a total of 14 ODA-eligible countries in the region. This includes Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territories, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Despite their abundant natural resources, these countries still face social and economic challenges brought on by inflation, political instability, and natural calamities.
This story is forDevex Promembers
Unlock this story now with a 15-day free trial of Devex Pro.
With a Devex Pro subscription you'll get access to deeper analysis and exclusive insights from our reporters and analysts.
Start my free trialRequest a group subscription Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
Miguel Tamonan is a Senior Development Analyst at Devex, where he analyzes data from public and private donors to produce content and special reports for Pro and Pro Funding readers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a Major in International Relations from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.