Definition
Official development assistance (ODA) comprises grants or loans to developing countries and territories on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) list of aid recipients that are undertaken by the official sector with promotion of economic development and welfare as the main objective and at concessional financial terms (if a loan, having a grant element of at least 25 percent). Technical cooperation is included. Grants, loans and credits for military purposes are excluded. Also excluded are aid to more advanced developing and transition countries as determined by the DAC. Bilateral official development assistance is from one country to another.
Untied bilateral official development assistance is assistance from country to country for which the associated goods and services may be fully and freely procured in substantially all countries.
Goal/targets addressed
Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development.
Target 12. Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction—both nationally and internationally.
Target 13. Address the special needs of the least developed countries. Includes: tariff and quota-free access for least developed countries’ exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for HIPCs and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction.
Target 14. Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly).
Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term.
Rationale
Tying procurement from aid contracts to suppliers in the donor country reduces its cost-effectiveness. Recognizing this, OECD/DAC member countries have raised the share of their aid that is untied. The share of untied aid to the least developed countries has risen relatively slowly, but the situation is likely to improve with the implementation of the new Recommendation on Untying Aid to the Least Developed Countries.
Data collection and source
Data are compiled by OECD/DAC.
References
Development Cooperation Report, annual, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Development Assistance Committee (www.oecd.org/dac).
International Development Statistics (CD-ROM), (technical notes, glossary and table of aid recipients), annual, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Development Assistance Committee (www.oecd.org/dac).
United Nations, Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ohrlls.
Periodicity of measurement
Annual.
Agency
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Development Assistance Committee.