The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its preliminary data on 2025 development assistance (ODA) by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and associates. Following a 32.7% increase from 2019 to 2023, ODA dropped 6.1% in 2024 – and a record 23.1% in 2025, down to USD 174.3 billion. The 2025 decrease is the largest annual contraction on record, bringing ODA where it was at the beginning of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

According to the OECD, Germany, the US, the UK, Japan, and France accounted for 95.7% of the total DAC ODA decline, with the US alone responsible for three-quarters of the drop as its ODA fell by 56.9% compared to 2024.

For the first time in history, at USD 29.1 billion, Germany was the largest DAC provider of ODA. Contrary to the general trend, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Luxembourg, Iceland, Denmark, and Norway increased their ODA in 2025.

Bilateral ODA dropped 26.4%, to USD 126.4 billion, with grants showing a sharper decrease (down 29.1%) than loans (down 10.3%). Multilateral ODA decreased by 12.7%, to USD 47.9 billion, with declines concentrated in core contributions to the UN system (down 27%) – the largest annual drop on record. At the same time, contributions to the World Bank and regional development banks increased.

Twelve countries that are not members of the DAC provided a total of USD 13.3 billion in ODA, reflecting their continued engagement in development cooperation. These providers are the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Türkiye, Qatar, Croatia, Malta, Bulgaria, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Israel, Chinese Taipei, Liechtenstein, and Monaco.

ODA to development programmes, humanitarian ODA from DAC countries, and ODA for in-donor refugee costs also recorded substantial decreases, as did DAC countries’ net bilateral ODA to Ukraine and bilateral ODA to least developed countries (LDCs) and sub-Saharan Africa.

OECD projections suggest further decreases in ODA going forward, with a further 5.8% drop in DAC ODA anticipated for 2026.

The final data for 2025 are expected to be published in December 2026. [OECD Data Explainer]