UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

03/24/2021 | Press release | Archived content

UNESCO mobilizes higher voluntary funding during Covid-19 crisis

In a year 2020 marked by a global pandemic of Covid-19, UNESCO managed to mobilize extra-budgetary funding to an amount of $ 424.3 million, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year. This demonstrates donor's confidence in UNESCO and the continued relevance of UNESCO's programmes. It shows also a sound financial situation for UNESCO, as well as an increase in external support to the organization's programmes and initiatives.

An overall increase of 15 % in voluntary contribution

Whilst contributions from governments slightly decreased, contributions from Multilateral institutions, the UN and the private sector increased significantly compared to the previous period. The European Union with a total contribution of $62.5million was the largest contributor, followed by Norway ($38.4M) and the World Bank/GPE ($36.1M).