Section 117 Foreign Gifts and Contracts by Country and Year
Foreign gifts and contracts that US colleges and universities reported to the Department of Education under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, totaled by source country and year.
Scope
One row per source country per year. Amounts in US dollars as reported, not adjusted for inflation.
- Institutions reported gifts and contracts from 191 source countries in report years 1,980 to 2,026.
- Amounts are summed as reported by institutions; one gift reported in several filings is counted once per filing.
- The Campus Watch Map carries the institution-level detail.
Codebook
| Field | Type | Definition | Allowed Values | Source | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
country | text | Source country as reported. | Country name | Department of Education | Afghanistan |
iso3 | text | ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code. | Three letters or blank | MEF mapping | AFG |
middle_east | text | Whether the country is in MEF's Middle East set. | no; yes | MEF | no |
year | integer | Year of the gift or contract. | 1980 to 2026 | Department of Education | 2005 |
amount_usd | integer (US dollars) | Total reported value. | 0 to 2,070,997,388 | Department of Education | 719014 |
records | integer | Number of reported gift or contract records. | 1 to 1,745 | Department of Education | 3 |
mef_page_url | URL | Country page on the Influence Tracker. | https URL | MEF | https://influence.meforum.org/university-money/country/afghanistan/ |
source_url | URL | Department of Education Section 117 file. | https URL | Department of Education | https://www.foreignfundinghighered.gov/prior_data/Section117PublicRecordscompletethroug... |
User Guide
How to Cite
Middle East Forum, Section 117 Foreign Gifts and Contracts by Country and Year (dataset), Influence Tracker, accessed October 13, 2026, https://products.meforum.org/datasets/section-117-by-country/
Cite the underlying government or UCDP record from the row's source field when quoting a single entry.
How Often It Updates
Rebuilt when the Department of Education posts a new Section 117 file (twice a year); current file complete through September 30, 2026. This file was generated on October 13, 2026.
Corrections
Report an error to info@meforum.org with the row identifier.