Research projects must be relevant to labour market policies in low-income countries (LICs). Research in other countries may be funded, but only if the applicant justifies the reasons for doing so and explicitly describes the process by which the results extend to LICs and are relevant for policy making in LICs. This is the list of countries defined by DFID as LICs (as of August 2017):
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Kenya
- Kyrgyz Republic
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of Congo
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- The Gambia
- Togo
- Uganda
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Proposals covering the Occupied Palestinian Territories are admissible as well.