Global Interest in USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. government responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) suspending most USAID foreign aid for 90 days. Four days later, on January 24, the U.S. Department of State issued a global cable, immediately halting both existing and new USAID foreign aid programs. On February 4, the administration announced a comprehensive review of all international intergovernmental organizations in which the U.S. is a member and provides funding.
The impact of this EO has been immediate and
far-reaching, affecting nations and organizations worldwide. To
assess global public interest and engagement, we analyzed Google
search trends for the topic USAID across
50 countries in the one-month period following the EO.
Using data from the Google Trends API (queried on
February 18, UTC) via the R package
gtrendsR, we measured the topic search popularity
score, a relative metric ranging from 0 to 1 that indicates how
frequently the topic was searched compared to all other search topics in
a given country. This relative nature allows for meaningful comparisons
across countries and over time. Our analysis aims to
shed light on how global interest in USAID has shifted in response to
these policy changes.
Researched and engineered at Decision Analytics
Hub
by Mauricio Claudio | DecisionAnalyticsHub@proton.me
A powerful indicator of its global influence, USAID garners more attention worldwide than in the United States itself.
USAID surged in popularity in all 50 countries since the Executive Order.
The EO did not significantly impact popularity, as there was no noticeable spike in the days therafter on January 21-24. However, on January 25 interest began to rise briefly, likely in response to the January 24 DOS Cable, before subsiding again. A strong upward trend emerged on January 1, reaching its peak on January 3, followed by a smaller secondary peak on January 7. Since then, overall popularity has steadily declined, despite localized increases in a few countries.
Hover on the graph for the individual country popularity.
Global response shifts along five distinct time sequences
A heatmap identifies five distinct response sequences over time, each marked by a different color in the dendrogram. The lowest sequences (purple and blue) from February 3-5 capture a sharp rise in global popularity, reflecting a delay between Washington’s decisions and global reactions. A secondary surge (red) from February 6-10 likely responds to the announcement of a review of international organization commitments. By February 17 (green), the final day of analysis, response levels had returned to those seen before the initial surge on February 3.
An alternative perspective highlights four distinct response clusters, distinguished by color in the dendrogram above. Each country within a cluster exhibits a response pattern more closely aligned with others in the same group than with those in different clusters.
The country popularity score is the average of daily search popularity scores for a given country, measured on a scale of 1 to 100 over the analysis period. A higher score indicates more consistent and sustained interest in the search topic throughout the period.
Popularity scores for each country and each day are shown in the next panel.
Decision Analytics Hub
At Decision Analytics Hub, I help organizations solve complex challenges in policy reform, decision-making and project management. With 20 years of global experience, I specialize in international development, advanced analytics and project management, backed by master’s-level training in Public Administration, Data Science and Applied Statistics.
I’ve led high-stakes operations in volatile, resource-constrained environments, and engaged with governments, donors and global leaders. My expertise turns data into clear strategies to optimize resources, enhance services and maximize impact.
Let’s work together to drive smarter decisions and create meaningful change. Ready to lead with confidence? Reach out on LinkedIn - Mauricio Claudio or email me directly.