Where is UN funding allocated?

UN expenditure

The funding of UN activities and the Sustainable Development Goals

 

In 2019, total UN system expenditure was US$ 55.6 billion. UN expenditure is usually divided into four activity areas: development assistance, humanitarian assistance, peace operations and global agenda (and specialised assistance). Expenditure on humanitarian assistance and development assistance, collectively referred to as UN operational activities for development (OAD), were roughly equal in 2016. By 2019, humanitarian assistance had grown to 38% of total UN expenditure while development assistance spending remained at 33%. OAD accounts for almost three-quarters of the total expenditure in the UN system.
 

Total UN expenditure was

US$ 56 billion


In 2019 		 With 

38% 

of expenditure, Humanitarian assistance has the largest activity area

 

Figure 4
Expenditure of the UN system-wide activities, 2016–2019 to this section.

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 Figure 5
Total expenditure for development and humanitarian-related UN operational activities 2010-2019 (US$ billion)

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Expenditure on humanitarian assistance has more than doubled (135% growth) in nominal terms, while development assistance has only increased by 17% during the period 2010–2019. Humanitarian assistance surpassed development assistance in 2016 and 2018, and the gap widened in 2019 when humanitarian assistance amounted to US$ 21 billion compared to US$ 18.4 billion for development assistance. The growth in resources allocated to humanitarian assistance is mainly connected to expenditure in a number of crisis-affected countries, including Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Humanitarian assistance expenditure more than

doubled in 10 years

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Resource allocation linked to the SDGs

The number of UN entities reporting on the linkages between their expenditures and the SDGs is growing. The total SDG-related expenditure of US$ 28.4 billion by the 17 entities with available data in 2019 corresponds to 51% of total overall UN expenditure and 70% of all contributions to the UN OAD segment. Although not representing all UN expenditure, the available data for 17 entities gives an indication of which SDGs are in focus for UN investments.

51%

of 2019 UN revenue was linked to the SDGs
Figure 6
Aggregated UN expenditure linked to the SDGs as reported by 17 UN entities, 2019 (US$ billion)

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Expenditure in crisis-affected countries

The share of humanitarian allocations for the 36 crisis-affected countries where 2019 UN expenditure exceeded US$ 100 million grew between 2010 and 2019, especially after 2013. Expenditure on development and peace activities, however, remained fairly constant during that period. The shift since 2013 was largely because of the escalating crisis in Syria and neighbouring Lebanon which, in addition to its own challenges, hosted many Syrian refugees. The escalation of the crises in South Sudan and Yemen also contributed to the steady growth in humanitarian expenditure.

 

 

21% of

UN expenditure was allocated to 5 crisis-affected countries