Where the UN's Refugee Agency Allocates Its Funds

As of May 31, 2024, the UN refugee agency UNHCR had received a total of $634 million in flexible funds from a variety of donors, around $400 million less than in a comparable timeframe the year prior. The UNHCR categorizes this type of funding as the most important since it's not earmarked for specific operations and can be distributed freely according to individual project needs. This, in theory, enables quicker responses to emerging crises. As our chart based on UNHCR data shows, most of the money received through these channels is funneled into programs in Ukraine, Lebanon and Sudan.

Around six percent of the flexible funds received are used in the UNHCR's Ukraine operation, with an additional five percent allocated to measures in Lebanon and Sudan. The latter country in particular is considered to be facing one of the direst humanitarian crises in recent history, with around six million additional people being internally displaced as a result of the war ongoing since April 2023 and 25 million Sudanese in need of emergency support at the end of 2023. Including earmarked funding, the UNHCR reportedly received $196 million in 2023 for its Sudan mission. However, the agency said it would have required $506 million to implement all planned measures. About half of this funding, $86 million, was provided by the United States.

When looking at flexible funding, the United States ranks second in the first five months of 2024 with $76 million, ahead of Norway ($62 million), Germany ($48 million) and Denmark ($45 million). The country providing the highest amount of funds not earmarked for any specific operation was Sweden with $108 million. Overall, the UNHCR received $4.9 billion in 2023 against an estimated budget of $10.9 billion required to address every crisis under its mandate.

The UNRWA, which is responsible for Palestinian refugees and maintains operations in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is considered the other major UN refugee agency next to the UNHCR. For its fiscal year 2024, the agency originally estimated a required program budget of $880 million, which excludes emergency appeals. This budget estimate was followed by a recent emergency appeal for $1.2 billion for its operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between April and December 2024.