Foreign aid expenditure in OECD countries (discontinued), 1999

The level of development aid is usually measured as a percentage of gross national product (GNP), and is often used to compare countries expenditure on foreign aid. In 1970 the UN resolved that development aid should account for 0.7 of GNP. Norway, Sweden and Denmark achieved this target relatively quickly in the 1970s. In 1999, only the Netherlands met the target outside the Scandinavian countries.

0.24 per cent of GNP

Most OECD countries saw an increase in development aid in 1999, and for the OECD as a whole, the share increased from 0.23 per cent of GNP in 1998 to 0.24 per cent of GNP in 1999. This is equivalent to a weighted volume change, i.e. corrected for price and foreign exchange changes, of 5.6 per cent for the OECD countries.

Japan gives the most

At US$15.3 billion, Japan was the biggest contributor for the seventh year in a row. Japan also had the biggest increase in development aid in 1999, increasing from 0.28 per cent of GNP in 1998 to 0.35 per cent of GNP in 1999. In recent years Italy has had pronounced fluctuations in development aid, and the countrys expenditure on development aid in proportion to GNP has swung from 0.11 per cent in 1997 to 0.20 per cent in 1998 and back to 0.15 per cent in 1999. USA was the second largest donor country by volume in 1999, with US$9.1 billion, while US expenditure on development aid is only 0.10 per cent of GNP. This is the lowest level of the OECD countries.

Norway: 0.91 per cent of GNP

Norways development aid was 0.91 per cent of GNP in 1999, and among OECD countries only Denmark has a higher assistance rate, with 1.01 per cent of GNP. The volume change for Norway, i.e. in constant 1998 prices, shows an increase of 0.5 per cent in the same period, and is the smallest change among the OECD countries. The OECD average for volume change was otherwise 5.6 per cent.

Tables:

• Table 1 Official devolopment assistance. 1995-1999