For decades, these aid programs received bipartisan support and made a difference. Cutting them will cost lives.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/us-foreign-aid-saved-millions"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/6b1dbe69-36c2-4089-8865-00bfba0e7200/w=1024"/></a>

People in high-income countries could dramatically improve lives worldwide with minimal financial commitment, yet few do.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/global-inequality-opportunity-to-give"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/4a07a4c2-8070-489b-cb46-62dc93a64700/w=1024"/></a>

Mobile money allows people without banks to securely transfer funds via text message, and its adoption is growing rapidly.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/mobile-money-why-it-matters" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/c18c6704-95a3-4757-6f5a-7036d5b86400/w=1350"/></a>

Foreign aid measurement is complicated — what exactly counts as Official Development Assistance, what doesn’t, and how much is actually spent abroad?<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/what-is-foreign-aid" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/45c115b3-453b-4d01-6ded-31b0e8570700/w=1350"/></a>

In many countries, a significant share of aid is spent domestically on hosting refugees, offering student scholarships, and administrative costs.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-domestic-overseas" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/78a7ce1c-2086-4716-c5dc-30f130bbee00/w=1350"/></a>

Migrants send or bring back over three times the amount of global foreign aid. Cutting transaction fees could make this support even more effective in reducing poverty.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/great-global-redistributor-money-sent-brought-back-migrants-remittances" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/b514dca3-733b-4e55-481d-66d83f6c8900/w=1350"/></a>

Long-distance moves are becoming more common, but they remain the exception. For most, international migration still means crossing a nearby border, not an ocean.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/international-migrants-dont-move-far" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/52b29637-7d81-4492-8e8f-2e46b03b7c00/w=1350"/></a>

Countries estimate how many people move in and out using censuses, surveys, and border records. How accurate are these numbers, and can they account for illegal migration?<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/countries-measure-immigration-accurate-data" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/2674a39a-04f4-4f57-9ae2-4a0a5ef2b900/w=1350"/></a>