Comparisons

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 member in 2015, contributing 0.29% of GNI as aid. In 2023, its ranking has dropped to 26th, with 0.19% of GNI for 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. Australia does not currently report these costs as ODA even though they are eligible under DAC rules.

There have been times when Australia was relatively more generous. In 1995, we were ranked the 9^th most generous donor. Australia’s ranking then fell, reaching 19^th in 2005. It showed some improvement during the aid scale-up, which began in the mid-2000s, but plateaued from 2011 to 2014 before falling to a low of 21^st in 2021. In 2022, Australia saw the biggest fall in the ranking, dropping seven places to 28^th. Then in 2023, Australia slightly improved its position to 26^th. The chart below shows how Australia's ranking among OECD DAC donors, based on ODA as a percentage of GNI, has changed over time.

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 rating was 14^th. Again, this slipped, falling to 19^th by 2005. Following the aid scale-up, our aid per capita rating peaked at 8th in 2012. Then it declined and in 2023, Australia was 19^th.

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.

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 the total aid volumes of OECD DAC members changed between 1995 and 2023. You can also see how our aid volumes compare to other OECD DAC donors, how our ranking among donors has changed over time, and our percentage share of the total DAC ODA contributions each year.

Our aid rankings compared

The chart below summarizes our rankings among DAC members on three aid measures (aid volume, ODA/GNI and aid per capita). The chart shows that our rankings on ODA/GNI, aid per capita, and total aid volume are now all lower than they were more than 20 years ago. The ranking on ODA/GNI sees the biggest fall, dropping seventeen places lower than it was in 1995.