Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

Season’s Best: The Giving List

A new report lists the top nations in terms of both the amount of aid and the nations that gave the most as a proportion of their gross national income. What is striking is the total absence of nations like Russia and China from either list despite their criticism of U.S. foreign policy.

While many of us continue to object to our foreign policies, it is remarkably how little countries like Russia and China give in aid while trying to organize the world in a coalition against the United States. Likewise, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías may relish his friends in Cuba, Russia, China, and Iran but these regimes offer more rhetoric than riches to the world’s poor.

It also puts into comparison our own giving levels when considered as part of our GNP. Obviously, we cannot ignore our consumption of a disproportionate amount of the world’s resources or our contribution to pollution and global warming. However, there is surprising little criticism of the lack of aid shown by countries like Russia and China.

Who Gives Most?

1. United States 21.4%
2. Germany 11.5%
3. United Kingdom 9.4%
4. France 9%
5. Japan 7.7%
6. Netherlands 5.7%
7. Spain 5.4%
8. Sweden 3.9%
9. Canada 3.9%
10. Italy 3.6%

Who gives the highest proportion of their gross national income?

1. Sweden 0.98%
2. Luxembourg 0.92%
3. Norway 0.88%
4. Denmark 0.82%
5. Netherlands 0.8%
6. Ireland 0.58%
7. Belgium 0.58%
8. Spain 0.433%
9. United Kingdom 0.431%
10. Finland 0.427%

Who received most overall aid?

1. Iraq $8.9bn
2. Afghanistan $2.9bn
3. Tanzania $1.8bn
4. Cameroon $1.6bn
5. Sudan $1.6bn

Who received the most multilateral aid?

1. Pakistan $1.2bn
2. Ethiopia $1.1bn
3. Palestinian Administrative Area $1bn
4. Vietnam $979.1m
5. Tanzania $972.5m

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10 thoughts on “Season’s Best: The Giving List”

  1. Speaking of the season . . .

    After a day of shopping and (gads) another round pending today, I’ve decided the way to win the war in Afghanistan is to put everything on sale and air drop in a bunch of middle aged Johnson County women with charge cards.

    Lines form to the left. We’ll open extra registers if needed.

    The Taliban wouldn’t stand a chance.

  2. AY,

    If the general populace knew how much employment numbers are massaged and what the REAL number is (probably about 18%) they’d be burning politicians in the street.

    And while Obama may be pouring gas on the fire, let’s never forget it was Bush and his fascist cronies who started the blaze.

    How much aid a country gives is a fact. A data point. It’s unimportant without context provided by knowing how the money is spent, toward what goal, and how effective the past expenditures were as a gauge for planning more effective future action. The question for analysis are not just “How much?” but “Why? How? Did it work in the past? Can it be made to work or work better in the future?” Otherwise? It’s just a Jeopardy question.

  4. I don’t think it’s particularly striking that Russia and China aren’t on these lists. They are simply nowhere near as developed as the western world. Russia does however plan to increase its aid to 0,7% of its GDP, and although a declaration of good intentions differs from actually doing something, they may be on some sort of track to reach that goal.

    Russian aid in 2009 is expected to reach $1 billion, which should amount to roughly 0,044% of their GDP (GDP estimate, 2008). The US gives only 0,17% of its GDP as foreign aid, so Russia is really not that far behind – especially if the GDP per capita of the two countries is considered. Russia has a GDP that is roughly 1/3 of that of the US. A higher GDP should mean that it is easier to offer aid to foreign countries.

    It should be mentioned that the US really doesn’t give all that much either. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands combined give almost 2/3 of the US aid, despite having a total population of only 35 million people between them.

    The source of the $1b: http://www.terravivagrants.org/Home/funding-news/other-funding-news/russiagettingintopositionasdonorofdevelopmentassistance

  5. We are a country that knows no boundaries in freedom of money. Well, Freedom of Speech, Press, Printing Money yep, still in check.

  6. Skewed accounting. Thats a good one. Think of the numbers that are published for the number of Unemployed. They leave out the ones that don’t qualify because they were self employed. The ones that have exhausted benefits, did not file or are disputed. Voodoo accounting I tell you.

  7. Who received the most “aid”?

    Iraq and Afghanistan !?!

    Wowee, a total of $12 billion !

    To get this PILE of aid these two countries had to suffer on the order of
    1 million deaths, 5 million displaced, a destroyed infrastructure and generations of genetic maladies from depleted uranium.

    Our “overhead” in delivering this “largess” will eventually be up to
    $3 trillion (at the latest estimate).

    Now there IS some governmental inefficiency for you!

    See what I mean about the skewed accounting?

  8. Huhh?

    Cops: Wife uses golf club to rescue Tiger

    “http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/34174324/ns/sports-golf/”

  10. An extended history of unjustified international “interventions” (and a policy of preventative war!) apparently can go a long way towards alienating our global neighbors.

    Why SHOULDN’T other countries unite against us if, as we have repeatedly and unequivocally proven, we just might attack any one of them next as our “national interest” (natural resources and corporate profits?) dictate?

    US citizens may be impressed with their country’s “giving” but the recipients of our constant and deadly “taking” live the REAL accounting.

    http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/usinterventionism.html?q=usinterventionism.html

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