The idea of a basic income has been appealing to the imagination for years: a monthly allowance from the government with no further obligations attached. Experiments with this are being conducted all over the world.
In the Netherlands it does the municipality of Eindhoven a trial with a basic income by providing problem youth with a monthly allowance. The youth, between 18 and 21 years old, normally only receive a social assistance benefit of 295 euros per month. The municipality of Eindhoven instead gives them 1,150 euros per month unconditionally.
From a cost-benefit analysis by research agency Cebeon, which Domestic Administration wrote, it turns out that this ultimately pays off. The municipality will save more in the long run in the areas of welfare, shelter and housing.
The Netherlands is certainly not the only country experimenting with variations on a basic income. These are 13 other countries that are looking at the pros and cons of a minimum income without obligations.
Brazil: Basic monthly income in city of Maricá
The city of Maricá in Brazil offers a basic income for more than 93,000 of the 197,000 inhabitants. The program was launched in 2019.
All recipients are residents of Maricá and are registered in the Brazilian Federal Registry for Social Programs, which identifies low-income households.
In 2013, the city established Banco Mumbuca, a community bank that issues a digital currency called mumbuca. The currency can only be used via a card or app in the city and is not redeemable for cash. Maricá has since offered some residents a form of basic income in the form of monthly mumbuca payments.
In 2019, the program began paying the equivalent of €52 in mumbuca to individuals every month – previously payments were made to households.
The basic income program was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. From April 2020 to December 2021, the payment increased to 114 euros. In May 2022, the payment decreased to 71 euros.
By the end of 2023, the program increased payments to 76 euros per month and applied to more than 93,000 residents.
Canada: Basic Income for Youth
In the Canadian state of British Columbia, the government administers the program Agreements with Young Adultsa guaranteed basic income for young people who have previously been in foster care or have been taken away from their families.
The program started in 2022 and is aimed at young people between the ages of 19 and 26 who have left youth care.
The agreements are for six months, during which recipients receive up to the equivalent of EUR 1,126 per month, depending on individual needs.
The program is designed to cover living expenses such as housing, food and transportation to help youth finish school, complete a rehabilitation program or receive other life skills training.
Beneficiaries can participate in the program for a total of 48 months.
China: Universal Basic Income in Macau
In the Chinese administrative region of Macau, the government has introduced a universal basic income for residents, the so-called Wealth Partaking Scheme. This is a one-time annual payment.
Since 2008, the Macau government has been providing this unconditional allowance to permanent and non-permanent residents. People must have a Macau ID card to receive the payment.
The annual payment is not fixed and is subject to changing rules each year. In 2024, permanent residents received the equivalent of 1,127 euros, while non-permanent residents received 676 euros.
Germany: Lottery to get basic income
My basic income is a German non-profit organization that provides a basic income through a lottery.
Mein Grundeinkommen is based in Berlin and started the lottery in 2014. Since then, the program has had 1,500 winners.
Anyone can participate in the Mein Grundeinkommen lottery, regardless of age, gender, nationality or income.
My Basic Income has two programs. The “utopian basic income” provides 991 euros per month for one year. The “realistic basic income” program provides up to 1,190 euros per month for three years, depending on the participant’s income.
In addition to the lottery, the non-profit organization in Berlin has run a pilot called Pilot project Basic income.
In this trial, 122 people received about 1,190 euros per month for three years. The last payment was made in May 2024. Researchers are analyzing the data and results are expected in January 2025.
India: Guaranteed Income for Women
In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the government is experimenting with a guaranteed basic income program for women called Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai, which roughly translates as “women’s rights grant.”
The program provides a basic income to women who are responsible for supporting themselves or their families.
The eligibility criteria are targeted at women with limited access to agricultural income and poor electricity supplies. Participants must be women aged 21 or over with an annual household income of approximately 2,700 euros or less.
Participants will receive around 11 euros per month. The income transfers began in September 2023 and are expected to last for a year.
Iran: Basic income for all citizens
In 2010, the Iranian government introduced a program that began direct payment transfers to the country’s residents.
According to the Stanford Basic Income Lab, Iran’s direct payments system provides a basic income to more than 70 million people.
Participants receive about $4 per month, according to Stanford Basic Income Lab.
Ireland: Basic Income for Artists
The Irish government is trialling a basic income for artists.
Any artist in Ireland could apply for the programme and 2,000 people were selected in 2022. The programme provides a monthly stipend of €316 per week until 2025.
The pilot is designed to measure the effects of basic income in providing financial stability for people working in the arts and creative sector.
Kenya: Basic Income Group Experiment
GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that runs basic income programs worldwide, has been running an experiment with a basic income in Kenya.
The program provides a universal basic income to individuals in more than 200 rural villages in Kenya. According to Stanford Basic Income Lab, there are 20,847 active participants.
The basic income pilot divided people into three groups: the first group receives over 20 euros per month for 12 years. The second group receives over 20 euros per month for two years.
The third group received a one-off payment of 450 euros at the start of the program.
Liberia: Basic income for 36 months
In 2022, GiveDirectly launched a pilot project for a universal basic income in Liberia, in southeastern Maryland County.
The program has 13,795 recipients, according to GiveDirectly. The villages in Liberia are randomly selected and all individuals receive monthly payments for 36 months, totaling $1,104.
South Korea: Basic Income Experiment in Seoul
It Safety Income Project is a pilot project for a guaranteed income in Seoul.
Launched in 2022, the program is managed by the Seoul city government and is also affiliated with the Seoul Welfare Foundation.
The program targets households with incomes below the median income level of South Korea’s capital and is divided into two phases.
Phase one covers 500 households and will run from July 2022 to June 2025, while phase two covers 1,100 households and will run from July 2023 to June 2025.
Phase one targets households with incomes of at most half of the median income in Seoul, and phase two includes households with incomes less than or equal to 85 percent of the median income.
Togo: Basic Income for Workers
In Togo, the government has a basic income called Novissi. Novissi means solidarity in the Éwé language, which is spoken in Togo.
Novissi was launched in 2020 and initially targeted workers in urban areas affected by COVID-19. It has since expanded to rural areas and the program now targets low-income workers.
Men and women receive 17.50 euros and more than 58 euros, respectively, every two months, according to the Stanford Basic Income Lab. There are more than 800,000 recipients.
Funding is provided by a mix of government and private funding. Program members include GiveDirectly, UC Berkeley’s Center for Effective Global Action and Innovations for Poverty Action.
UK: Basic income for young people who have been in youth care
In Wales the programme offers Basic Income for Care Leavers financial support to young adults who have been in youth care programs.
It involves 18-year-olds leaving foster or statutory care. The Welsh Government has included a group of those who turned 18 between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 in the programme, which runs until 2025.
The program provides a basic income of approximately 1,479 euros per month after taxes for 24 months.
US: Dividend from oil revenues in Alaska
According to the Stanford Basic Income Lab are walking there in the US in 16 states and in Washington DC experiments with an active basic income.
There are also other cash transfer programs that are not necessarily basic income. The Alaska Permanent Fund For example, is a state program that pays residents an annual dividend based on the state’s oil revenues. While not a basic income program, it offers many similar benefits.
