2025 saw historic decline in international development finance

The official development assistance (ODA) continued to decline in 2025 both globally and in Finland. Statistics indicate a broad shift in global development finance. Ukraine remained Finland’s largest partner country for bilateral development cooperation.

On Thursday 9 April, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released preliminary data on official development assistance (ODA) in 2025 by member countries of the organisation’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Globally, the total amount of ODA saw a record decline of 23.1 per cent in 2025, as several countries reduced their contributions. Global figures for 2025 largely reflect the reduction in financing by the five largest donor countries, which accounted for 96 per cent of the total decline in ODA. Germany overtook the United States to become the biggest single donor for the first time. The United States has long been the largest ODA donor in the world. EU Member States accounted for 49.6 per cent of the total financing.

Ukraine continued to be the largest single recipient of ODA. DAC members, including the EU, used a total of EUR 39.8 billion (USD 44.9 billion) in ODA to support Ukraine in 2025. Ukraine remained by far Finland’s largest partner country.

Finnish ODA is declining

Finland’s ODA totalled EUR 1251 million in 2025. The amount represented 0.44 per cent of Finland’s gross national income (GNI), according to preliminary data. This is a decrease of EUR 51 million from 2024. In percentage terms, Finland’s ODA expenditure fell by 3.9 per cent from 2024.

Finland’s exclusive ODA budget item, administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and appropriations under the item Humanitarian assistance to Ukraine totalled EUR 591 million, while Finland’s other ODA totalled EUR 661 million. Other ODA include Finland’s share of the EU’s ODA budget and share of in-donor refugee costs.

The biggest changes from the previous year were evident in the exclusive ODA budget item, with disbursements decreasing by EUR 73 million. Expenditure decreased evenly across the different forms of financing, excluding support for civil society organisations (CSOs). As regards other ODA, especially refugee reception costs saw a decline (-EUR 49 million).

Finland’s development cooperation in 2025

A significant share of Finland’s ODA in 2025 was channelled through the EU (EUR 316 million), the UN (EUR 254 million) and the World Bank Group (EUR 76 million). The Finnish Government Programme prioritises aid channelled through Finnish CSOs (EUR 124 million) and humanitarian assistance (EUR 117 million), both of which accounted for a record‑high share of Finland’s development cooperation.

Ukraine remained by far Finland’s largest partner country for development cooperation, with EUR 60 million channelled to the country. Most of this amount was financed from the budget item Humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. In addition to direct official development assistance, the in-donor refugee costs for Ukrainians were reported as Finland’s ODA.

ODA in other OECD and EU countries

Globally, official development assistance (ODA) amounted to USD 174.3 billion (EUR 155 billion) in 2025, falling by 23.1 per cent compared to the previous year. This is the largest drop on record in global development cooperation during one year. The largest donors were Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and France. The UN agreed target of spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on ODA was exceeded by Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden. Total ODA for all DAC member countries combined as a per cent of GNI stood at 0.26 per cent. The DAC has 34 member countries, 23 of them EU Member States.

Together, the EU and its Member States were the largest donor of ODA. The ODA expenditure of the EU Member States that are members of DAC totalled about USD 86.5 billion (EUR 76.7 billion), representing 0.42 per cent of the combined GNI of the DAC-EU countries. However, the expenditure fell by 9.8 per cent from 2024. The impact of inflation has been taken into account in the percentages describing changes in the level of funding.

Eight member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) increased their ODA expenditure, while in 26 member countries expenditure fell.

The 2025 statistics on development cooperation indicate a broad shift in global development financing. Several traditional donors have significantly reduced their ODA expenditure in recent years. The role of developing countries in promoting sustainable development is becoming increasingly prominent. Developing countries’ own domestic financing is increasingly complemented by external financing, which is linked to commercial, investment-based and other forms of cooperation. Contributions to the World Bank (+6.4%), regional development banks (+11.9%) and private sector support (+13.1%) increased. In contrast, ODA declined especially for the least developed countries (-25.8%) and humanitarian assistance (-35.8%), which have the greatest need for financing. The cuts also affected core contributions to the UN (-27%), which will have a significant impact on the operating models of the multilateral system. 

The final statistics for the year 2025 will be published at the end of 2026. The data will be updated as regards the regional breakdown of spending, among other data. Finland’s ODA to GNI ratio may change as well once Statistics Finland revises its GNI estimate.