Where does ODA go?

Official development assistance, or ODA, is the main source of development aid around the world. It consists of grants and concessional finance aimed at improving the economic development and welfare of low- and middle-income countries. ODA data is collected from donors by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, which publishes it on the Data Explorer website. This report analyzed the $251.5 billion of ODA that was disbursed in 2022 the latest year available on comprehensive OECD data to track the funding flows from donors to recipients, and to inform where ODA is coming from, where it’s going, and how it’s being spent. The year 2022 saw a rise in ODA, driven in particular by the Ukraine & Russia war, and spending to support refugees arriving in donor countries. That money was spent mostly by the 32 members of the Development Assistance Committee more on that later. Yet still only a handful of donors spent 0.7% of gross national income on ODA the target recognized by the OECD since the 1970s.