Stimulus Update: Nearly 190 Countries Provided Stimulus Money. These 7 Did Not

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It’s easy to forget how similar our lives are to others around the world. 

While some Americans doubted the wisdom of providing eligible citizens with stimulus funds, the U.S. was not alone in doing so. In fact, of the 195 recognized countries on Earth, 186 provided their citizens with much-needed financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. While no country got it 100% right, leaders came at the problem from every direction. Some countries aimed cash assistance only at the poorest residents, while others tried to reach almost everyone.

Countries like Belgium and Gabon focused on a tiny percentage of their populations, while India and Japan rolled out massive initiatives. In all, an estimated 1.36 billion people received cash-based relief.

As Americans waited for stimulus payments to hit their bank accounts, they may have been unaware of the unprecedented transfer of cash going on worldwide. It was the first time that workers received cash support with no strings attached on such a large scale.

Not every country was on board with direct cash payments

With no data available for North Korea or Western Sahara, here are the seven countries that provided no cash relief to their residents.

1. Chad

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), Chad was desperately poor before the pandemic, with nearly 50% of its population living in poverty. In fact, 37.8% of children in this African country are stunted due to a lack of nutrition.

While outside funds poured into Chad from groups like The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), it was not shared as direct payments with the Chadian people. It’s possible that the government of Chad — one of the poorest countries in the world — lacked the infrastructure to distribute money.

2. Greenland

One could argue that Greenland was far less impacted by COVID-19 than most other countries. Due, in part, to its isolated location, there were only 21 COVID-19-related deaths from Jan. 3, 2020, to March 21, 2023. With strict measures in place to ensure new cases of the virus did not enter the country, it’s possible the government never saw a need for cash relief.

3. Hungary

Hungarians live under the dictatorship of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and received little aid from their government as COVID-19 swept the country. As part of the European Union (EU), Hungary received a portion of the EU’s pandemic recovery fund but almost immediately proposed spending the money on energy issues.

It appears the only meaningful assistance for residents came in the way of tax breaks and a cap on interest rates.

4. Libya

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other outside agencies poured money into Libya in hopes that it would reach the most vulnerable by increasing exposure to health information and providing vaccines. The Libyan government provided no direct cash assistance.

5. Nicaragua

It’s unclear if Nicaraguans were assisted in any way by their government. According to NPR, getting accurate news out of Nicaragua or its longtime authoritarian president Daniel Ortega can be next to impossible.

6. Oman

The Arabian Peninsula country of Oman did not offer cash assistance but did provide tax breaks and other initiatives.

7. Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister directed funds to 89 members of parliament (MPs). Those MPs were told to spend the money on healthcare in their districts. According to a report in The Interpreter, there’s no way to know how much of the money — if any — was spent on health. It’s more likely that money went to supporters of the MPs rather than their constituents.

As the U.S. suffered through the pandemic, it was easy to forget that billions of other people experienced the same thing. They suffered job and income losses just like us. They listened to their neighbors argue over mask mandates and worried about their elderly or frail loved ones. At the end of the day, the pandemic serves as a reminder that we’re more alike than we might imagine.

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