Official development assistance

The promotion of economic and social development in non-member countries has been a principal objective of the OECD since its foundation. The share of national income devoted to official development assistance (ODA) is widely regarded as a test of a country’s commitment to international development, and there is a long-standing United Nations target for developed countries to devote 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to ODA. The tables in this section show total ODA as shares of GNI as well as the geographical distribution of bilateral ODA.

Definition

Official development assistance is defined as government aid to developing countries designed to promote the economic development and welfare of recipient countries. Loans and credits for military purposes are excluded. The aid may be provided bilaterally, from donor to recipient, or it may be channelled through a multilateral development agency such as the United Nations or the World Bank.

Aid includes grants, "soft” loans, and the provision of technical assistance. Soft loans are those where the grant element is at least 25%. ODA is usually measured on a net basis, i.e. after subtracting loan repayments from the gross aid flows. Data on the geographical distribution of aid are presented on a gross basis to show the level of new aid provided during the period.

The OECD maintains a list of developing countries and territories, and only aid to these countries counts as ODA. The list is periodically updated and currently contains over 150 countries or territories which had per capita incomes of less than USD 10 066 in 2004 (by comparison, per capita income in OECD countries averaged over USD 35 000 in that year). Note that of the 30 member countries of the OECD, only the 22 shown in the table are members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), along with the European Commission.

Comparability

Statistics on ODA are compiled according to a set of directives drawn up by the DAC and each country’s statistics are subject to regular peer reviews by other DAC members. Data for Greece are available only since 1996 as Greece joined the DAC in 1999. From 1990 to 1992 inclusive, forgiveness of non-ODA debt was reportable as a part of a country’s ODA but was excluded from the DAC total.