What Does Israel Spend on Its Foreign Ministry? NIS 1.385 Billion
The State Comptroller published a Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget of NIS 1.385 billion, 0.29% of the state budget, inside a NIS 3.2 billion framework.
NIS 1.385 billion was the budget of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, being 0.29% of the state budget, as published by the State Comptroller of Israel in Annual Report 70B in 2020. The Comptroller records that the Ministry sits inside a wider foreign affairs framework budget of NIS 3.2 billion, shared with 35 other state agencies operating abroad. Both figures are the state’s own budget lines, examined by Israel’s state audit institution, which reports to the Knesset.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| NIS 1.385 billion | Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget | As audited, Annual Report 70B, 2020 |
| 0.29% | The Ministry budget as a share of the state budget | As audited, Annual Report 70B, 2020 |
| NIS 3.2 billion | Foreign affairs framework budget, the Ministry line and the other state agencies operating abroad | As audited, Annual Report 70B, 2020 |
| 35 | Other state agencies operating abroad alongside the Ministry | As audited, Annual Report 70B, 2020 |
| Minus 14% | Change in the Ministry budget, against a 25% rise in the state budget | 2015 to 2019 |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Israel’s Foreign Affairs Framework and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Budget, chapter 209 in Annual Report 70B, 2020, English abstract.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget was NIS 1.385 billion
The State Comptroller of Israel published the Ministry’s budget as NIS 1.385 billion and put it at 0.29% of the state budget. The 0.29% is a share of the state budget and not of gross domestic product, and the two denominators are not interchangeable. The Ministry line is the government’s own budget figure for its own department, reported by the Comptroller in the English abstract of chapter 209, which the Comptroller published itself in 2020.
The NIS 3.2 billion framework covers 35 other state agencies
The State Comptroller reported that Israel’s foreign affairs activity is funded across a framework budget of NIS 3.2 billion, of which the Ministry’s own budget is NIS 1.385 billion. The Comptroller counted 35 other state agencies operating abroad within that framework, so the Ministry line is one part of it rather than a smaller earlier version of it. These are the state’s own budget allocations for its own agencies, recorded in the Comptroller’s audit.
- Foreign affairs framework budget: NIS 3.2 billion
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget inside that framework: NIS 1.385 billion
- Other state agencies operating abroad within the framework: 35
The framework total already contains the Ministry line, so the two figures are not summed.
The Ministry’s budget fell 14% while the state budget rose 25%
The State Comptroller recorded that the Ministry’s budget fell 14.7% in 2019 while the state budget rose 4.3%, and that it fell 14% across 2015 to 2019 while the state budget rose 25%. Each Ministry movement is published beside the state budget movement for the same window, and the Comptroller states both halves of each pair. The percentages are movements in the state’s own budget allocations, as the audit reports them.
103 missions abroad and about 4,500 staff sit behind the budget
The State Comptroller published a count of 103 missions abroad and about 4,500 staff across the foreign affairs framework, together with diplomatic relations with 161 countries. The Comptroller also recorded that 7 missions were ordered closed. Relations, missions and staff are the government’s own counts of its own diplomatic apparatus, reported in the same 2020 audit.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 161 | Countries with which Israel has diplomatic relations | As audited, 2020 |
| 103 | Missions abroad | As audited, 2020 |
| About 4,500 | Staff across the foreign affairs framework | As audited, 2020 |
| 7 | Missions ordered closed | As audited, 2020 |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Annual Report 70B, chapter 209, 2020.
The Comptroller publishes no public diplomacy budget line
The State Comptroller’s chapter on the foreign affairs framework carries the framework total, the Ministry budget, the mission and relations counts, the staff total and the mission closures. It sets out no separate figure for public diplomacy, advocacy, advertising or delegation spending, and no Israeli official publication in this record carries such a line. The absence is recorded here as it stands.
- Published in chapter 209: NIS 3.2 billion framework, NIS 1.385 billion Ministry budget, 0.29% share, 161 relations, 103 missions, about 4,500 staff, 7 closures
- Not published in chapter 209: any budget line for public diplomacy or advocacy activity
Which of these figures may not be added together?
The NIS 3.2 billion framework budget includes the Ministry’s NIS 1.385 billion, so the two are not additive, and the State Comptroller reports the second as a component of the first.
Diplomatic relations with 161 countries and 103 missions abroad count different things, and a country with which Israel has relations need not host a resident mission.
The budget movements are published in pairs, minus 14.7% against plus 4.3% for 2019 and minus 14% against plus 25% for 2015 to 2019, and the Comptroller reports each Ministry movement with its state budget counterpart.
The Comptroller states, in its May 2022 audit of the Samaria and Judea District of the Israel Police, that the findings of an audit report and its recommendations are valid as of the date of their presentation. Chapter 209 is a dated examination, not an annual budget series.
Questions readers ask
How much was Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget?
The State Comptroller of Israel published the Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget as NIS 1.385 billion in chapter 209 of Annual Report 70B in 2020.
What share of the state budget is that?
The State Comptroller put the Ministry budget at 0.29% of the state budget. That share is of the state budget, not of gross domestic product.
What is the foreign affairs framework budget?
The State Comptroller recorded a foreign affairs framework budget of NIS 3.2 billion, covering the Ministry and other state agencies operating abroad.
Do the Ministry budget and the framework budget add up to a larger total?
No. The State Comptroller reported the NIS 1.385 billion Ministry line as part of the NIS 3.2 billion framework, so the two figures are not summed.
How many other agencies operate abroad?
The State Comptroller counted 35 other state agencies operating abroad alongside the Ministry’s 103 missions.
How many missions does Israel run abroad?
The State Comptroller published a count of 103 missions abroad, and recorded that 7 missions were ordered closed.
Is 161 the number of Israeli embassies?
No. The State Comptroller recorded diplomatic relations with 161 countries and 103 missions abroad, which are different counts.
How many people work in Israel’s foreign affairs framework?
The State Comptroller reported about 4,500 staff across the framework, a figure the audit itself states as an approximation.
How did the Ministry budget change in 2019?
The State Comptroller recorded a fall of 14.7% in the Ministry budget in 2019, against a rise of 4.3% in the state budget in the same year.
Does the Comptroller publish a public diplomacy budget?
The State Comptroller published no separate public diplomacy or advocacy budget line in chapter 209, which carries the framework, Ministry, mission and staff figures.
Which documents does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publish itself?
The State Comptroller notes that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes primary texts on gov.il. This record uses the Comptroller’s audit of the foreign affairs framework, not those texts.
What period do these figures cover?
The State Comptroller published the figures in Annual Report 70B in 2020, with the budget movements covering 2019 and the period 2015 to 2019.
Sources
- Government of the State of Israel and the P.L.O., 1994. Protocol on Economic Relations. Annex IV to the Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area, published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs at gov.il. Primary and official record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2020. Israel’s Foreign Affairs Framework and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Budget. Chapter 209, Annual Report 70B, English abstract, 8 pages, library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2022. Interdisciplinary Audit: Samaria and Judea District of the Israel Police, Follow-up Audit. State Comptroller Report, May 2022, Chapter Four, English abstract, mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
