De er fordelt omtrent således: Irland, Italien og Portugal har hver fået ca. 20 pet., Spanien 16 pet., Grækenland 12 pet. og Nordirland og de franske oversøiske departementer hver ca. 5 pet.
In 1986, more than 1 100 million ECU in grants were committed by the ESF to the Community's most disadvantaged regions, distributed roughly as follows: Ireland, Italy and Portugal each received nearly 20% of the total, Spain 16%, Greece 12%, Northern Ireland and the French overseas departments nearly 5% each.