Foreign aid expenditure in OECD countries (discontinued), 2011

Preliminary figures from the OECD show that total development assistance amounted to USD 133.5 billion in 2011; the highest ever recorded, increasing from USD 128.5 billion in 2010. However, as a share of the countries’ combined gross national income (GNI), there was a drop from 0.32 per cent in 2010 to 0.31 per cent in 2011.

UN’s target long way off

Comparing ODA as a percentage of GNI is often used to measure countries’ expenditure on foreign aid. In 1970, the UN resolved that development aid should account for 0.70 per cent of GNI. Norway, Sweden and Denmark achieved this goal relatively quickly in the 1970s. However, in 2010, only the three Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and Luxembourg achieved the target, and for the DAC countries in total, the UN goal remains a distant one.

USA still the largest contributor

The largest donor by volume in 2011 was the USA, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. USA contributed with USD 30.7 billion, equivalent to 0.20 per cent of GNI, down from 0.21 per cent in 2010. France reduced its percentage of GNI used on development assistance from 0.50 in 2010 to 0.46 in 2011, while Germany and Japan showed percentages in 2011 of 0.40 and 0.18 respectively.

Spain, which in 2010 allocated 0.43 per cent of GNI to ODA, reduced its share to 0.29 per cent in 2011. This corresponds to a reduction in ODA of USD 1.7 billon. Several other countries also reduced their development assistance in 2011. The cuts must in part be attributed to the fiscal restraints observed in a number of the DAC countries over the last couple of years.

Norway contributed with one per cent of GNI

Norway’s development aid fell from 1.10 per cent of GNI in 2010 to 1.00 per cent in 2011. The drop of 0.10 per cent is the third largest, after Spain and Belgium. Nevertheless, Norway is the second highest contributor when comparing percentages of GNI, and is surpassed only by Sweden. Measured in US dollars, the expenditure Norway used on development aid increased by approximately USD 350 million to USD 4.9 billion in 2011.

Tables:

• Table 1 Official development assistance.