The UK spends a very small share of its budget on overseas aid

The UK spends about £74 per person on overseas aid. When asked where public spending should be reduced most, around 60% of people in the UK suggest cutting foreign aid.

However, people overestimate how much the UK spends on aid: last year’s UK Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses show that overseas aid amounted to £5.1 billion — just about £74 per person.

As the chart shows, this is a tiny part of public spending, making up only 0.5% of the total budget.

To put this in perspective, the UK spends much more on other areas: over eight times as much on public order and safety, ten times more on defense, and forty times more on each of the two biggest expenses: health and welfare.

Spending is not much higher if we also consider funds dedicated to supporting refugees in the UK itself.

This situation is not specific to 2023: the UK’s foreign aid spending has been at similar levels for decades and is in line with what other wealthy countries spend. Compared to the size of its budget and economy, foreign aid is a relatively small expense.

(This Daily Data Insight was written by Bastian Herre.)