At a glance
Open Society Foundations statistics show a large, globally distributed funding network with a long operating history and a spending profile that has shifted across regions over time. The headline numbers matter because they show both scale and direction: billions spent to date, more than a billion dollars in 2024 expenditures, and a portfolio that spans six geographic regions.
Fast facts
- Open Society Foundations have spent $24.2 billion to date (Financial Figures).
- 2024 expenditures were $1.2 billion (Financial Figures).
- The United States accounted for $242.0 million in 2024 expenditures, or 20.3% of global expenditures (United States page).
- Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for $117.1 million in 2024 expenditures, or 9.8% of global expenditures (Latin America and the Caribbean page).
- Europe and Central Asia accounted for $83.7 million in 2024 expenditures, or 7.0% of global expenditures (Europe and Central Asia page).
- Africa accounted for $69.9 million in 2024 expenditures, or 5.9% of global expenditures (Africa page).
Table of contents
- Scale and spending
- 2024 regional mix
- What the regional data says
- How the network is organized
- Timeline signals
- Using the numbers carefully
Scale and spending
Open Society Foundations statistics are dominated by one core story: sustained, high-volume giving over decades. The foundations have spent $24.2 billion to date (Financial Figures), and the 2024 expenditure level reached $1.2 billion (Financial Figures). That combination tells you the organization is not a small grantmaker with a narrow footprint. It is a large, international funding platform with a long spending runway and a track record that stretches across multiple decades and regions.
The historical structure of the network also matters. George Soros has given over $32 billion to the foundations since 1984 (Who We Are), the first international foundation opened in Hungary in 1984 (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros), and the organization now works in over 120 countries around the world (Who We Are). Those facts do not just describe longevity. They explain why the later regional expenditure figures are meaningful: they reflect a mature institution with established channels, offices, partners, and issue areas.
A second useful lens is the pace of change. Average annual change in expenditures since 2016 was 10.2% at the global level (Financial Figures). That is a strong growth signal over a multi-year span. It suggests the overall spending base expanded materially rather than staying flat. When paired with the 2024 number, it shows a foundation system that has been actively scaling rather than merely preserving its earlier profile.
Core spending signals
- $24.2 billion to date (Financial Figures) shows the cumulative scale.
- $1.2 billion in 2024 (Financial Figures) shows current-year operating intensity.
- 10.2% average annual change since 2016 (Financial Figures) shows the spending base has been moving upward.
- More than $22 billion in assets (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros) gives context for the scale of the institution behind the grantmaking.
2024 regional mix
The most useful comparison inside the 2024 data is geographic concentration. The United States was the largest single reported region at $242.0 million and 20.3% of global expenditures in 2024 (United States page). Latin America and the Caribbean followed at $117.1 million and 9.8% (Latin America and the Caribbean page). Europe and Central Asia reported $83.7 million and 7.0% (Europe and Central Asia page). Africa reported $69.9 million and 5.9% (Africa page). Middle East and North Africa reported $19.4 million and 1.6% (Middle East and North Africa page).
| Region | 2024 expenditures | Share of global expenditures | Trend note |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $242.0 million | 20.3% | 11.0% average annual growth since 2016 (United States page) |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | $117.1 million | 9.8% | 13.9% average annual change since 2016 (Latin America and the Caribbean page) |
| Europe and Central Asia | $83.7 million | 7.0% | -0.5% average annual change since 2016 (Europe and Central Asia page) |
| Africa | $69.9 million | 5.9% | -0.6% average annual change since 2016 (Africa page) |
| Middle East and North Africa | $19.4 million | 1.6% | -0.3% average annual change since 2016 (Middle East and North Africa page) |
That table shows a clear pattern. The United States remains the largest 2024 reporting region, while Latin America and the Caribbean stands out as the fastest-growing among the regions listed here, based on its 13.9% average annual change since 2016 (Latin America and the Caribbean page). By contrast, Europe and Central Asia, Africa, and Middle East and North Africa show slightly negative average annual changes since 2016 in the supplied data (Europe and Central Asia page; Africa page; Middle East and North Africa page).
What the regional data says
The regional numbers are best read as a mix of concentration and diversification. The United States alone made up about a fifth of global expenditures in 2024 (United States page), which means a large share of activity is still anchored in one country. But the rest of the footprint is spread across multiple regions with different operating rhythms, from Latin America and the Caribbean to Europe and Central Asia, Africa, and MENA. That spread matters because it suggests the foundation is not simply funding a single geography or single issue area.
The Americas stand out in different ways
The United States had the largest reported 2024 amount, but Latin America and the Caribbean is notable for its growth rate. The region’s $117.1 million in 2024 expenditures represented 9.8% of the global total, and its average annual expenditure change since 2016 was 13.9% (Latin America and the Caribbean page). That is a stronger growth rate than the overall 10.2% average annual change since 2016 reported in the financial figures (Financial Figures).
There is also a practical programmatic dimension in the Latin America facts. Open Society responded to COVID-19 in Latin America with over $21 million in support (Latin America fact sheet). Support for Brazil’s emergency universal basic income reached over 30 million vulnerable people (Latin America fact sheet). Open Society helped Colombia develop legal status and social-benefits access for more than 500,000 displaced Venezuelans (Latin America fact sheet). Those are useful examples of scale because they translate budget lines into population-level reach.
Europe remains broad and institutional
Europe and Central Asia is another major operating region, with $83.7 million in 2024 expenditures and 7.0% of global expenditures (Europe and Central Asia page). But the deeper story is institutional density. Open Society has worked in Europe since 1984 (Europe fact sheet), operates through more than 20 national and regional foundations (Europe fact sheet), and has offices in Berlin, Brussels, and London (Europe and Central Asia page). That infrastructure helps explain how a comparatively moderate 2024 expenditure figure can still support a broad regional agenda.
The Europe fact sheet also shows how spending is distributed across themes. In 2020, Europe budget shares included 33% for Democratic Practice, 25% for Equality and Anti-Discrimination, 11% for Human Rights Movements and Institutions, 9% for Health and Rights, 8% for Economic Equity and Justice, 5% for Early Childhood and Education, 3% for Higher Education, 2% for Information and Digital Rights, 2% for Justice Reform and the Rule of Law, and 2% for the remaining theme allocation shown on the sheet (Europe fact sheet). That is a useful reminder that regional spending is not just a geography story. It is also a theme allocation story.
Africa and MENA are smaller in current spending but rich in program history
Africa reported $69.9 million in 2024 expenditures and 5.9% of global expenditures, with an average annual change since 2016 of -0.6% (Africa page). Middle East and North Africa reported $19.4 million, 1.6% of global expenditures, and -0.3% average annual change since 2016 (Middle East and North Africa page). The low or slightly negative trend numbers do not mean the regions are inactive. They mean the spending pattern is more restrained in the current dataset than in the Americas.
The supporting facts show active work in both regions. Open Society’s Africa work merged into the global structure from 2022 to 2024 (Africa page). The region’s history timeline highlights HIV and TB work in 2007, support for post-conflict Sierra Leone and Liberia in 2009, accountability work in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011, and reducing harm from drug use in 2017 (Africa page). Open Society’s first African scholarship program began in 1979 (Africa page), and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, West Africa, and Eastern Africa opened in 1997, 2000, and 2005 respectively (Africa page).
MENA has a similar layered history. The first grants in the Middle East were made in 2002 (Middle East and North Africa page), the first regional office opened in Amman in 2006 (Middle East and North Africa page), and MENA work is supported by just under 3% of Open Society’s annual budget (MENA fact sheet). Open Society also funds tens of thousands of refugees across Jordan and Lebanon (MENA fact sheet), trained more than 3,500 Arab journalists, editors, and fact-checkers over the last 15 years, and those media partners produced over 650 investigations (MENA fact sheet).
How the network is organized
The statistics also reveal a distributed organizational model. Open Society spans six geographic regions (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros), has more than 22 billion dollars in assets (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros), and provides no more than 33% of funding to the vast majority of organizations it supports (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros). That funding rule is important. It suggests the network is designed to co-finance rather than fully underwrite most grantees, which can influence sustainability, leverage, and partner diversification.
Open Society awarded 2,350+ grants in 2023 and worked with grantees from 100+ countries in the same year (How We Fund). It also had active impact investments of $130 million as of December 2022 (How We Fund). These figures show a toolkit that goes beyond simple grant disbursement. There are grants, cross-border relationships, and capital deployed in more than one way.
A compact organizational snapshot
- Six regions define the geographic frame (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros).
- More than 120 countries are part of the global reach (Who We Are).
- 2,350+ grants in 2023 indicate a high-throughput funding model (How We Fund).
- 100+ countries among grantees in 2023 show broad partner dispersion (How We Fund).
- 33% maximum funding to most organizations suggests a partnership-style approach (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros).
Timeline signals
A timeline is useful because it shows the difference between current scale and accumulated capability. Open Society’s first international foundation opened in Hungary in 1984 (The Open Society Foundations and George Soros). The foundation later expanded across regions, including Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, with regional structures and offices appearing in different years across the network (Africa page; Europe and Central Asia page; Middle East and North Africa page; Latin America and the Caribbean page).
A few milestones stand out because they show how long the network has been building institutions.
- 1979: Soros launched a scholarship program for Black South African students (The Open Society Foundations in South Africa).
- 1987: Soros supported a first dialogue between South African business and political leaders (The Open Society Foundations in South Africa).
- 1993: Open Society Foundation for South Africa began its work (The Open Society Foundations in South Africa).
- 1995: NURCHA was created, later supporting construction of over 250,000 housing units (The Open Society Foundations in South Africa).
- 2017: The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture launched (Europe and Central Asia page).
- 2019: Tunisia’s first televised electoral debates were designed and led by Munathara (MENA fact sheet).
These milestones are not just historical decoration. They help explain why Open Society’s 2024 expenditures are spread across such a varied set of regions and themes. Long-lived institutions often accumulate specialized operating channels, and the supplied statistics show exactly that.
Using the numbers carefully
Open Society Foundations statistics are most informative when you read them as a system. The cumulative spending number, the 2024 expenditure figure, the regional shares, the regional growth rates, and the country and program examples all point in the same direction: a large philanthropic organization with deep international reach and distinct regional profiles (Financial Figures; Who We Are; How We Fund).
There are still a few disciplined ways to interpret the data. First, do not compare a regional expenditure number directly with a thematic or programmatic milestone without noting the source label. Second, do not treat the 2024 share numbers as permanent weights, because the dataset itself shows different average annual changes since 2016 across regions. Third, remember that some facts describe spend, while others describe assets, grants, reach, or historical milestones. Those are related, but they are not the same thing.
The clearest takeaway is that the foundation system is both large and unevenly distributed. The United States remains the largest reported 2024 region, Latin America and the Caribbean shows the strongest recent growth among the regions listed here, and Europe, Africa, and MENA continue to operate through long-established regional histories and offices (United States page; Latin America and the Caribbean page; Europe and Central Asia page; Africa page; Middle East and North Africa page). That mix is what makes the statistics useful: they show both the scale of the institution and the shape of its priorities.