The OECD-DAC establishes international rules on what cooperation constitutes ODA and how it should be reported. Under the rules set by the DAC, ODA must meet the following three requirements: (i) it is provided by official agencies or their executive agencies; (ii) its main objective is to promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries; and (iii) it is concessional in character (in the case of government loans, the terms of the loan [e.g., interest rate and repayment period] are set in favor of the recipient countries).

DAC countries provide development cooperation under the rules set by the DAC. However, the content of ODA implemented by major donors varies by country. This section outlines the aid provided by DAC donors, focusing on the G7 countries, based on their disbursements in 2021.

■ Aid Disbursements by Major Donors

ODA provided by DAC countries in 2021 (calculated by GE system) amounted to approximately 185,930 million US dollars. By country (GE system, percentage out of total ODA of DAC countries), the United States ranked first (approximately 47,805 million US dollars, 25.7%), Germany second (approximately 33,272 million US dollars, 17.9%), Japan third (approximately 17,634 million US dollars, 9.5%), the United Kingdom fourth (approximately 15,712 million US dollars, 8.5%), France fifth (approximately 15,506 million US dollars, 8.3%), Canada sixth (approximately 6,303 million US dollars, 3.4%), Italy seventh (approximately 6,085 million US dollars, 3.3%), Sweden eighth (approximately 5,934 million US dollars, 3.2%), and the Netherlands ninth (approximately 5,288 million US dollars, 2.8%), with the G7 countries occupying the top spots. Note 14

■ Sectors Aided by Major Donors

Disbursements in 2021 from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada were concentrated in the social infrastructure sectors, including education, health, and water supply and sewerage. The United States allocated about the same amount (slightly less than 40% of total ODA) to emergency response (humanitarian aid, etc.) and food aid as it does to social infrastructure. On the other hand, in the economic infrastructure sectors, such as roads, bridges, railroads, communications, and electric power, Japan has the highest allocation with 35.8% of its total ODA, followed by France with 23.1%. Economic infrastructure assistance makes up a large share of Japan’s cooperation because Japan, with its postwar recovery experience, considers that, in order to achieve poverty reduction and other goals through sustainable economic growth in developing countries, it is essential first and foremost to establish economic infrastructure and support the self-help efforts of developing countries (Chart I-7).

■ Regions Aided by Major Donors

Whereas Japan’s ODA is primarily directed at the Asian region (approximately 59.1% of gross disbursements in 2021 [hereinafter the same]) (Chart I-2), Sub-Saharan Africa was the top recipient of aid from the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy (34.9%, 42.4%, 26.6%, 23.4%, 19.8%, and 40.5%, respectively). Note 15 In terms of the percentage of total aid disbursements from major DAC countries by region, the United States was the largest donor to the Middle East and North Africa (30.5%), Sub-Saharan Africa (37.2%), and Latin America and the Caribbean (28.7%). Australia provided 45.3% of total ODA to Oceania, while Germany accounted for 31.0% of total ODA to Europe, including the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. As these figures indicate, the regional priority of each donor is also influenced by factors such as geographic proximity and historical background (Chart I-8).

■ Disbursements by Type of Assistance (2021)

By type of assistance, approximately 85.4% of ODA provided by all DAC countries in 2021 were grants (bilateral grant aid Note 16: approximately 49.3%; bilateral technical cooperation: approximately 9.3%; grants to multilateral institutions: approximately 26.8%), and approximately 14.7% were government loans, etc. (bilateral loans: approximately 13.5%; loans to multilateral institutions: approximately 1.2%). With the exception of Japan and France, the top 10 major DAC countries implemented most of their ODA as grants (bilateral grant aid, bilateral technical cooperation, and grants to multilateral institutions) (Chart I-9).

Loan aid (e.g., yen loan) accounts for a large share of Japan’s ODA because Japanese assistance aims to support developing countries’ self-reliant efforts to achieve economic growth. This is based on the idea that effective development cooperation requires awareness raising that development is not granted; rather, it is something developing countries take ownership of. From the viewpoint of developing countries, they carry out projects aimed at their social and economic development with the funds they have borrowed. This in turn encourages the countries to work hard on their projects. Japan’s cooperation strives to enable the people of developing countries to sustain and evolve the projects on their own even after Japan’s yen loan projects are completed. This approach is unique to Japan, which places importance on self-help efforts.

1. Note 14: OECD database (OECD.Stat) (December 2022)
2. Note 15: OECD database (OECD.Stat) (December 2022)
3. Note 16: Bilateral grant aid refers to grant aid, debt relief, and grants through multilateral institutions, etc., on Chart I-1.

Main Text | Reference Statistics | Appendix | Stories from the Field | Master Techniques from Japan to the World | ODA Topics