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13 countries with active universal basic income and guaranteed basic income programs
- Universal basic income and guaranteed basic income programs offer unconditional, recurring payments.
- Basic income pilots are active in the US but have also been tried worldwide.
- Countries like Kenya and South Korea support basic income programs that assist residents.
As cities and states in the US continue to launch basic income programs, countries around the world are also experimenting with the no-strings-attached money initiatives.
Basic income — recurring, unconditional payments — can describe two different programs: universal basic income (UBI) or guaranteed basic income (GBI).
UBI does not distinguish between recipients, while GBI targets specific communities.
Both kinds of programs provide funds for people to spend where they need it most, as opposed to government assistance programs like SNAP or Medicaid that target specific spending categories, like food and healthcare.
Though experts continue to debate the pros and cons of universal basic income, the Stanford Basic Income Lab reports that 12 countries besides the US have active basic income initiatives.
Here are countries with active basic income programs, listed in alphabetical order. All monetary values have been converted into US dollars.