22 December 2015: The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has reported that official development assistance (ODA) reached an all-time high in 2014, despite preliminary figures for the year having indicated a decline. ODA to the least developed countries (LDCs), however, decreased by 9.3% in real terms compared to 2013, while ODA to sub-Saharan Africa decreased by 4.4%.

Preliminary figures for the year were published in April 2015, and signalled a 0.5% decline in total net ODA compared with 2013. This was “reversed” by the final data as several members reported slightly higher volumes of aid for certain items, such as Italy reporting about US$600 million more, mostly related to refugee costs.

According to its final figures for 2014, net ODA flows from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries totaled US$137.2 billion, an increase of 1.2% in real terms over 2013. As a share of Gross National Income (GNI), ODA was 0.3%. Since 2000, OECD notes, net ODA has increased by nearly 70%.

OECD’s data show that the largest DAC donor countries by volume were the US, the UK, Germany, France and Japan, and that Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the UK exceeded the UN’s ODA target of 0.7% of GNI. Group of 7 (G7) countries provided 71% of total net ODA in 2014, and the DAC-EU countries 55%.

The largest recipients of total net ODA in 2014, OECD reports, were: Afghanistan (US$4.8 billion); Viet Nam and the Syrian Arab Republic (US$4.2 billion each); Pakistan and Ethiopia (US$3.6 billion each); Egypt (US$3.5 billion); and Turkey (US$3.4 billion). [Final ODA Figures in 2014] [Detailed ODA Figures] [Preliminary ODA Figures (April)]