What country does the UK give the most money to?

Based on the most recent final data (2023–2024), Ukraine is the country that receives the most bilateral foreign aid from the UK.

Which country does the UK give the most money to?

In 2022:

• the top 3 recipients of UK bilateral country specific ODA were Afghanistan (£353 million), Ukraine (£342 million) and Nigeria (£110 million)
• the largest amount of bilateral ODA was focused on the sectors 'Refugees in Donor Countries' (£3,690 million), 'Humanitarian (£109 million) and 'Health' (£966 million)

Where does most of the UK's money go?

The UK's welfare and pensions budget is the largest area of public spending, amounting to approximately £280 billion in the 2024–2025 fiscal year. The largest portion of this is the State Pension, which costs £125 billion and is paid to over 12 million pensioners.

Where does the UK get most of its money from?

The UK's main sources of income are taxes, primarily Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), and Value Added Tax (VAT), which together provide over half of government revenue, alongside a dominant services sector driving the economy, especially finance and business services, as well as significant income from technology and aerospace.

What countries does the UK send money to?

The ranking of countries receiving UK bilateral aid has remained fairly stable in recent years – with Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Pakistan among the current top ten. However, Ukraine became the top recipient of UK aid in 2023, following the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion.

Foreign aid: who gives the most, and where does it go?

Does the UK still give aid to China?

According to official UK bilateral aid statistics, the UK spent £68.4 million on aid to China in 2019, up from £44.7 million in 2015.

Who benefits most from UK aid?

In 2022 and 2023, the UK provided £592 million to Ukraine and £467 million to Afghanistan, making them the top recipients of UK development funding over the period.

Who does the UK owe the most money to?

The UK owes most of its government debt to itself, primarily held by UK financial institutions (pension funds, insurance companies, banks) and the Bank of England (through quantitative easing), with overseas investors holding a smaller but significant portion (around 28-30%). While large chunks are held domestically, major foreign holders include investors from the U.S. and Japan, but no single country dominates ownership; it's distributed globally. 

Does the UK get fuel from Iran?

Unlike oil, the UK does not import natural gas directly from Iran or Israel in any meaningful quantities. Most of our gas comes from a mix of domestic North Sea production, pipeline imports from Norway, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from countries such as Qatar and the United States.

What are the 3 biggest taxes in the UK?

Overview. Income tax forms the single largest source of revenues collected by the government. The second largest source of government revenue is National Insurance Contributions. The third largest source of government revenues is value added tax (VAT), and the fourth-largest is corporation tax.

How is the UK still so rich?

The United Kingdom has a highly efficient and strong social security system, which comprises roughly 24.5% of GDP. The service sector dominates, contributing 82% of GDP; the financial services industry is particularly important, and London is the second-largest financial centre in the world.

What is the UK's biggest expense?

Pie chart of UK government spending, 2023–24. The most significant area of government spending is welfare (£341 billion in financial year 2023–24), with the largest single element of this being for the State Pension, which totals £124 billion.

Who's richer, Scotland or England?

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. SCOTLAND & UK PER HEAD COMPARISON

In 2021 The UK's GDP per head was £33,708 . Scotland's GDP per head excluding North Sea Revenue was £30,793 . Scotland's GDP per head, including a geographic share of North Sea Revenue, was £ 33,033 .

How much aid will the UK give to other countries in 2025?

In 2025/26, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) bilateral aid to specific countries and regions will total £8.7 billion, down £600 million from the year before. This does not include aid from other departments or to multilateral agencies.

Does the USA give the UK aid?

The United States government gave out about $12.5 billion under the Plan during its three-and-a-half-year existence. The countries receiving the most were Great Britain ($3.3 billion), France ($2.3 billion) and West Germany ($1.4 billion).

Does the UK owe Iran money?

British government paid all its debts to the Islamic Republic of Iran. After more than four decades, the British historic debt to Iran has been repaid with accrued interest, through orchestrated efforts by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in close cooperation with other Iranian organizations.

Does the UK buy anything from Russia?

Total UK imports from Russia amounted to £444 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025 (a decrease of 13.5% or £69 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024).

Which country is Iran's best friend?

Iran has close ties with Lebanon and considers it an ally. Iran also has close ties with the Lebanese political party Hezbollah and its militia force to whom it reportedly provides as much as $100 million in supplies and weaponry per year. Iran has been a staunch supporter of both Lebanon and Hezbollah against Israel.

Which country is not in debt?

There is no independent country that is completely debt-free. Having national debt is considered normal in modern economic systems. The country with the highest national debt is Japan. The United States is not a debt-free country.

Who owns the 37 trillion debt?

Who Owns All that Debt? On October 21, 2025, the nation's gross debt eclipsed $38 trillion. Of that amount, approximately 80 percent, was debt held by the public — representing cash borrowed from domestic and foreign investors.

Is the UK in too much debt?

The UK, like a number of other developed economies, is facing a difficult fiscal outlook. Public debt, at 101% of GDP and climbing, is historically high outside of major wars. At the same time, the deficit was 5.7% of GDP in 2024—the third-highest among European countries.

How much do immigrants cost the UK economy?

Notwithstanding these variations in methods, according to the same source, “studies typically find that the fiscal impacts of migration represent less than 1% of GDP.”

How much aid does the UK give to Africa?

Country aid spending in Africa will be £1.5 billion, the Middle East and North Africa £852 million, and £280 million in the Indo-Pacific. Other departments are also responsible for spending. Bilateral aid fell substantially in 2023/24 before the rise in 2024/25.