WHO Funding by Country 2026

The World Health Organization, usually shortened to the WHO, is responsible for carrying out a wide variety of humanitarian missions all over the world. Without funding, the WHO has a very difficult time getting its work done. Recently, the WHO released its budget for 2022 and 2023, which came in at around $6.12 billion dollars. This represents an increase of approximately five percent from 2020 and 2021, when the budget was approximately $5.84 billion.

Given that the vast majority of the work the WHO does is humanitarian in nature, some people are wondering where this money comes from. The World Health Organization levies assessments on various countries that total approximately $957 billion. Voluntary contributions are about $3.7 billion, which means there is an imbalance on the sheet that the World Health Organization is seeking to correct with a new budget.

Which Countries Provide the Most Funding for the WHO?

Countries with stronger economies are generally expected to contribute more money to the World Health Organization. It should come as no surprise that, by far, the biggest contributor to the World Health Organization is the United States. For example, the United States was expected to contribute approximately $220 million to the WHO during the newest budget cycle. However, the US announced its withdrawal from the WHO in January 2025 and declared the withdrawal complete in January 2026 despite still owing an estimated $130–280 million in unpaid contributions. Leaving the contributions unfulfilled would violate a 1948 agreement requiring all WHO members to fulfill their financial obligations before withdrawing from the organization.

Outside of the US, China is expected to contribute approximately $115 million. The other countries that are expected to contribute significant amounts of money to the World Health Organization include Japan, which should contribute approximately $82 million, Germany, which should contribute approximately $58 million, and Britain, which should contribute approximately $44 million. There are numerous other countries that will contribute small amounts of money to the World Health Organization as well.

Are Contributions Expected To Go Up?

Clearly, the World Health Organization has a budget that will be a bit larger than it was during the past few years. In addition, there is a large imbalance in the budget of the WHO right now. As a result, contributions are expected to go up. Some are even expecting that the assessments being placed on various countries are expected to rise approximately 20 percent. The current leadership of the World Health Organization says that if the organization is expected to carry out its job, the amount of money coming from various countries will have to go up as well.

What Are the WHO’s Biggest Missions?

The biggest job of the World Health Organization is to provide healthcare to people who otherwise would not have access to it. Even though there is a common belief that the WHO only serves third-world countries, this is not necessarily the case. There are lots of people who live in developed countries who also do not necessarily have access to the healthcare they need. Furthermore, by providing healthcare to people who live in developing nations, it is possible to prevent outbreaks of various infections from spreading to other locations as well. Therefore, the WHO has a very important job to do.