25 Countries That Gave the Most Foreign Aid in 2023

Rabeeta Abbas
13 min read

In This Article:

In this article, we discuss the 25 Countries That Gave the Most Foreign Aid in 2023. If you want to skip our detailed discussion of the topic, you can skip it and go directly to 5 Countries That Gave the Most Foreign Aid in 2023.

Governments of developed and established countries help other countries in need through foreign aid. Mostly, this is to form alliances and develop friendships as countries. In the year 2022, as per the latest data available from the OECD database, the member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) gave a total foreign aid of $211 billion to developing countries and those in need of urgent humanitarian aid.

Compared to 2021, the volume of foreign aid had increased by 17% in 2022. Note that volume does not equate to provision of capital. That's because foreign aid comes in various forms, including gifts, grants, loans, food supplies, services, medical assistance, training services, peacebuilding, infrastructure building, healthcare, or humanitarian assistance, by one or multilateral countries or international institutions. Moreover, according to the rules set by OECD’s DAC, the first-year costs, such as accommodation, food, health, and education, spent on asylum seekers or refugees by the host country can also be considered official development assistance (ODA). 

Foreign aid can also be fiscal and military, which is considered one of the significant sources of foreign exchange. While it may seem odd for a country to aid another country with military services, it primarily demonstrates goodwill. One of the most common reasons why countries give out foreign aid is to help developing countries fight poverty, and that clause comes under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) program. The main source of ODA comes from bilateral grants from one country to another, including loans channeled by International and non-governmental organizations. 

Sometimes, countries offer foreign aid to another country to improve their own security. For instance, when a hostile government tries to take over politically friendly countries or goes to war with them, helping the countries with military and financial assistance improves the donor’s security. A good example of this was seen during the Russia-Ukraine war. According to the Media Govt report, the United States has sent a total of $44.2 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine to help the country win the Russia-Ukraine war. Another common reason behind giving foreign aid is to accomplish a political aim, such as getting diplomatic recognition in a region. 

Recommended Stories