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On average, the industrialized nations gave 0.3% of GNP in aid in 1993 - less than half the 0.7% target agreed to 25 years ago. Only four nations - Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden - met the 0.7% target in both 1992 and 1993.
Some of the steepest falls in aid have occurred in countries with the best long-term aid records. The amount given per person has been halved in Finland (from $141 in 1992 to $70 in 1993), and sharply reduced in Sweden ($270 to $203) and Norway ($288 to $236). But Danes still give three times as much in aid per person as Germans, Norwegians three times as much as Canadians, Dutch twice as much as Japanese, and Swedes five times as much as Americans.
Aid provided by non-DAC members (mainly the Soviet Union and oil-rich Arab States) accounted for about a third of total aid in the late 1970s, but has since declined to about 3%. Many former aid donors in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have joined the list of recipients. Aid from Arab countries, approximately $1 billion in 1993, is at an all-time low.
Roughly a third of 1992 aid was tied to purchases of goods and services from the donor country. From the recipient's point of view, tied aid is usually less valuable (by about 15% according to some estimates) because it reduces the scope for competitive bidding and takes away the freedom to shop around.
Africa loses out
Aid accounts for about a third of financial flows to the poor world. Counting bank lending, private investment, and export credits, total flows have increased sharply since 1989. But the world's poorest region has been bypassed.
Net resource flows to developing regions ($ billions in 1992 dollars)
Source: OECD, Development cooperation 1994, 1995.
Where the aid went in 1993
Source: OECD, Development cooperation 1994, 1995.
The aid record
Total Aid given
aid given per person
Country ($billions) 1993 ($) 1993
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Japan 11.3 90
United States 9.7 38
France 7.9 138
Germany 7.0 86
Italy 3.0 53
United Kingdom 2.9 50
Netherlands 2.5 165
Canada 2.4 82
Sweden 1.8 203
Denmark 1.3 259
Spain 1.2 31
Australia 1.0 54
Norway 1.0 236
Belgium 0.8 80
Switzerland 0.8 112
Austria 0.5 69
Finland 0.4 70
Portugal 0.2 25
Ireland 0.1 23
Luxembourg 0.1 127
New Zealand 0.1 28
Total 56.0 70
Sources: Aid OECD, Development cooperation 1994, 1995, GNP. World Bank, The World Bank atlas 1995, 1994