Lithuania ranked among the countries that delivered the most significant increases in official development assistance, according to the OECD’s preliminary figures
On 12 April 2023, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published preliminary figures for the support provided by donor countries to developing countries in 2022. For the first time, Lithuanian data has been published as that of a full-fledged member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the leading international forum of many of the largest aid providers.
In 2022, Lithuania’s official development assistance (ODA) grew more than twice (121.6 %) and amounted to EUR 187,46 million, or 0.29 per cent of GNI. According to the annual growth rate of ODA, Lithuania is the fourth among the EU member states belonging to the DAC. Lithuania’s ODA has grown significantly due to humanitarian and financial support for Ukraine (a quarter of Lithuania’s ODA goes to Ukraine) and spending to help refugees in Lithuania, mainly from Ukraine. EUR 110,76 million was allocated for bilateral assistance and EUR 80.66 million for multilateral aid.
In providing its assistance, Lithuania adhered to the principle of complementarity and did not reduce its aid to other partner countries. On the contrary, Lithuania’s ODA also increased without considering the additional urgent need for assistance to Ukraine and war refugees.
In 2022, official development assistance by member countries of the DAC rose to an all-time high of USD 204 billion in 2022, up 13.6% in real terms from USD 186 billion in 2021, as developed countries increased their spending on humanitarian aid and processing and hosting refugees. The increase was primarily due to a sharp rise in expenditures for processing and hosting refugees within donor countries (to USD 29.3 billion, or 14.4% of ODA, up from USD 12.8 billion in 2021). Another factor behind the increase was a jump in aid to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion and ongoing war. ODA to Ukraine totalled USD 16.1 billion, or 7.8 per cent of ODA. The 2022 ODA total is equivalent to 0.36% of DAC donors’ combined gross national income (GNI), slightly higher than in 2021 when it reached 0.33 %.
Lithuania annually submits a statistical report on the support provided to the OECD DAC. In December, the OECD will publish detailed data on the support provided in 2022.
More detailed information from the OECD can be found at Official development assistance (ODA) – OECD.
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