Benin: Net official flows from UN agencies, UNHCR (current US$)

Key figures

Since 1981 it is up 419.32% from US$50,000 in 1981 (4.43% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 8 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2019, Benin's net official flows from UN agencies, UNHCR (current US$) rose 57.7% on 2018 (from US$164,667 to US$259,661).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1982 to 2018), the average change was +10.9% and a typical year strayed about 72.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 207.1% in 1985 and the biggest yearly fall was 81.2% in 1991. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2019, Benin had the 10th highest value of the 12 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Benin in the 2019 ranking

• Guinea — 6th of 12: US$853,670
• Gambia, The — 7th of 12: US$619,731
• Gabon — 8th of 12: US$459,401
• Moldova — 10th of 12: US$141,457
• Sierra Leone — 11th of 12: US$134,200
• Belize — 12th of 12: US$1,680

What this measures

Net official flows from UN agencies are the net disbursements of total official flows from the UN agencies. Total official flows are the sum of Official Development Assistance (ODA) or official aid and Other Official Flows (OOF) and represent the total disbursements by the official sector at large to the recipient country. Net disbursements are gross disbursements of grants and loans minus repayments of principal on earlier loans. ODA consists of loans made on concessional terms (with a grant element of at least 25 percent, calculated at a rate of discount of 10 percent) and grants made to promote economic development and welfare in countries and territories in the DAC list of ODA recipients. Official aid refers to aid flows from official donors to countries and territories in part II of the DAC list of recipients: more advanced countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the countries of the former Soviet Union, and certain advanced developing countries and territories. Official aid is provided under terms and conditions similar to those for ODA. Part II of the DAC List was abolished in 2005. The collection of data on official aid and other resource flows to Part II countries ended with 2004 data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 31 values

Net official flows from UN agencies, UNHCR (current US$) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$1.74 million (2023)
• Botswana — US$915,943 (2019)
• Burkina Faso — US$3.54 million (2022)
• Burundi — US$1.85 million (2023)
• Cameroon — US$6.17 million (2022)
• Central African Republic — US$2.09 million (2023)
• Chad — US$24.26 million (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$4.48 million (2023)
• Congo, Rep. — US$1.44 million (2023)

More economic policy & debt data for Benin

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$2.18 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 1.27 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.01 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 1.19 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 8.87% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$14.33 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 8.34 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Benin's net official flows from UN agencies, UNHCR (current US$)?

US$259,661 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1981?

It is up 419.32% from US$50,000 in 1981 (4.43% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$4.11 million in 1994 and the lowest US$30,000 in 1991.

How does Benin rank?

10th highest of 12 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in net official flows from UN agencies, UNHCR (current US$) unusual for Benin?

In 2019, Benin's net official flows from UN agencies, UNHCR (current US$) rose 57.7% on 2018 (from US$164,667 to US$259,661). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1982 to 2018), the average change was +10.9% and a typical year strayed about 72.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.NFL.UNCR.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Development Assistance Committee, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), uri: https://stats.oecd.org/; Geographical Distribution of Financial Flows to Developing Countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), uri: https://stats.oecd.org/; Developmen… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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