Comparisons
How does Australia's aid program compare to those of other developed countries?Our ranking among DAC donors: 2023
26th
On ODA as % of GNI
19th
On ODA per capita
13th
On aid volume
9th
Largest economy
19th
On ODA as % of GNI
12th
On aid volume
16th
On ODA per capita
10th
Largest economy
How do we rank on key aid measures?
The chart below summarizes our rankings among DAC members on economic size and three aid measures (aid volume, ODA/GNI and aid per capita). It shows that, while our economy size ranking improved from 11th in 1995 to 9th in 2023, our ODA/GNI ranking dropped seventeen places. Our ranking on aid per capita also dropped, falling five places from two decades ago.
In the following sections, we will look at each of these measures.
How do we compare on generosity?
Official development assistance (ODA) as a percentage of a country's Gross National Income (GNI) is the most commonly used measure to assess the generosity of a country's foreign aid. In the Trends section, we looked at how Australia's ODA as a percentage of GNI had changed over time. In the chart below, you can see how Australia's contributions have compared to those from other countries between 1995 and 2023. As you can see, Australia was the 14th most generous DAC country member in 2015, contributing 0.29% of GNI as aid. In 2023, its ranking has dropped to 26th, with just 0.19% of GNI spent on aid. Many European countries contribute much larger ODA/GNI shares, with many of these donors reporting the first year of in-donor refugee stay as a substantial portion of their aid spending. These shares have increased following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Australia does not currently report these costs as ODA even though they are eligible under DAC rules.
How do we compare on aid per capita?
Aid per capita is another measure of a country’s aid effort. It measures the amount of ODA provided per head of the donor country’s population. In 1995, Australia’s aid per capita was 133 in 2022 US dollars, similar to that of Canada. Now twenty years later, Australia's aid per capita is much lower, lagging behind our neighbour New Zealand.
How much aid do we give compared to other donors?
While measures such as ODA/GNI and aid per capita provide a good way to assess a country’s aid effort, based on the size of its economy or population, it is still interesting to see how the overall volume of Australia’s aid compares to that of other DAC donors. From this, we can gain some insight into the importance and prominence of Australia as an aid donor in a global context.
The chart below shows the total aid volume provided by DAC country member in current and inflation adjusted prices. The total amount of aid provided by DAC country members have steadily increased over time.
In 2023, based on total volumes in current prices, Australia was the 13th largest donor in the OECD DAC. The US is by far the largest donor. Four other donors also have very large aid budgets — Germany, Japan, the UK, and France. Australia is now around the level of medium-sized donors, alongside countries such as Spain, Korea and Denmark.
In 2014, the size of our aid was roughly equivalent to that of Canada’s, and accounted for 3.18% of the total volume of DAC ODA. In 2023, it was only 1.45% of total DAC ODA. Below, you can see how our aid volumes compare to other OECD DAC donors and our percentage share of the total DAC ODA contributions each year.
You can see that Australia's importance as a donor increased during the scale-up period, not only because we were increasing our aid (most other donors were as well) but also because the Australian dollar gained in strength. However, that has reversed in recent years.
Read more on OECD DAC and how Australia performs among global donors on the Devpolicy Blog.
Summary
- As of 2023, Australia ranked 26th among 31 OECD DAC bilateral member countries on the generosity of its aid (measured using ODA as a percentage of GNI).
- Australia's rankings on ODA/GNI, aid per capita, and aid volumes have deteriorated over time, or at best have stagnated.
- In 2023, Australia's aid accounted for 1.45% of total OECD DAC aid.