About the Data

Understanding our data sources and methodology

Financial Tracking Service (FTS)

fts.unocha.org

The Financial Tracking Service is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It provides comprehensive data on humanitarian funding flows from government donors, private organizations, and other sources to humanitarian organizations and recipient countries.

Coverage Global humanitarian funding since 2000
Update Frequency Continuous (as reported by donors)
Data Points Donor, recipient, amount, plan, cluster

Humanitarian API (HAPI)

hapi.humdata.org

The Humanitarian API is part of the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) platform, managed by OCHA's Centre for Humanitarian Data. HAPI provides standardized access to key humanitarian datasets including population statistics, humanitarian needs, and operational presence data.

Coverage ~25 countries with formal HRPs
Update Frequency Annually (with HNO releases)
Data Points People in Need (PIN) from humanitarian needs assessments

UNHCR Refugee Statistics

unhcr.org/refugee-statistics

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) maintains global statistics on refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless people, and other populations of concern. This data shows how many displaced people each country hosts.

Coverage Global (180+ countries)
Update Frequency Annually (mid-year estimates available)
Data Points Refugees hosted, asylum seekers, IDPs, stateless

IPC Food Security Analysis

ipcinfo.org

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a global standard for measuring acute food insecurity. Phase 3+ (Crisis, Emergency, Famine) populations are used as a supplementary source for countries where HAPI PIN data is unavailable. Note: Major crisis countries (Afghanistan, Yemen, DRC, Sudan, etc.) should have HAPI PIN data from their formal HRPs — IPC is only used for countries outside the HRP system.

Coverage 30+ countries (food crisis zones)
Update Frequency Multiple times per year
Data Points Phase 3+ populations (Crisis and above)

Methodology

This dashboard combines funding data from FTS with humanitarian needs data from HAPI and refugee statistics from UNHCR to provide insights into humanitarian funding patterns.

  • People in Need (PIN) comes from HAPI and represents populations affected by humanitarian crises who require assistance. This is derived from Humanitarian Needs Overviews (HNOs) conducted for countries with formal Humanitarian Response Plans.
  • Refugees Hosted comes from UNHCR and represents refugees and asylum seekers residing in each country. This is a separate metric from PIN — a country can host many refugees while having few people in need (e.g., Germany), or have many people in need while hosting few refugees (e.g., Syria).
  • Funding per person in need is calculated only when PIN data is available, by dividing total funding by the number of people in need. This metric is not calculated using refugee counts, as refugees hosted and humanitarian need are distinct concepts.
  • Funding status classifications (High, Medium, Low) are based on funding per person thresholds: High (≥$150), Medium ($80-150), Low (<$80).
  • Donor aggregations combine all reported contributions from a single source organization across all recipient countries and organizations.

Data Limitations

  • PIN coverage is limited: Only ~25 countries have formal Humanitarian Response Plans with PIN data. Many countries receiving significant humanitarian funding (such as Palestine with $3.5B in 2024) do not have PIN figures in HAPI. This is not an error — it reflects the scope of the HNO/HRP process.
  • Funding data is self-reported: FTS relies on voluntary reporting by donors and may not capture all humanitarian assistance, particularly bilateral aid or private donations.
  • Double-counting may occur: Funding reported at multiple stages of the humanitarian funding chain (e.g., from government to pooled fund to implementing partner) can result in the same money being counted more than once.
  • Refugee data timing: UNHCR statistics are typically released mid-year for the previous year, so current-year data may show zeros or be incomplete.
  • Currency effects: All figures are in USD using exchange rates at the time of reporting, which may affect year-over-year comparisons for non-USD donors.

Contact

This dashboard is maintained by MarketImpact. For questions about the data or methodology, please contact us.