Development aid: OECD, “EU is world’s leading donor” providing 75 billion a year

€75.2 billion is the sum allocated by the EU and its Member States to development aid in 2019. This accounts for 55.2% of global aid, according to the data released by the OECD Development Assistance Committee today. The sum, which represents 0.46% of the EU’s gross national income in 2019, decreased slightly by 0.01% compared to 2018, but remains significantly above the 0.21% average of the non-EU members of the Committee. “As the world’s leading donor of official development assistance, the EU is saving lives, building stronger economies and protecting the planet for the benefit of millions throughout the world”, Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said about the data. The percentage, however, has been constantly decreasing since 2016. “I call on all Member States and all development actors to re-double their efforts”, Urpilainen remarked. “The current coronavirus crisis shows how interdependent we all are and how important it is to step up support to our partner countries as Team Europe”. Luxembourg tops the ranking of the EU’s most generous countries, providing 1.055% of its gross national income in aid; it is followed by Sweden (0.99%), Denmark (0.71), and then the UK (0.70%) and Germany (0.61%). Italy contributes with 0.24% of its gross national income.
Marco Calvarese