Wealthy nations collectively reduced overseas development assistance by over one-fifth in 2025, according to new data released by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This marks the steepest contraction in a generation, Mikaela Gavas of the Center for Global Development Europe stated. The United States significantly decreased its contributions, allowing Germany to become the world's largest aid donor for the first time.
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC), comprising 34 of the world's richest nations, saw overall aid fall by 23.1 percent. This brought the total to $174.3 billion. The United States alone accounted for 75.1 percent of this decline. Other major donors, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan, also reported substantial reductions. Germany provided $29.1 billion in aid, surpassing the United States' $29 billion contribution. This marks the first instance Germany has led global aid giving. Bilateral aid from DAC countries dropped by 26.4 percent. Multilateral aid, directed to international organizations like the United Nations, decreased by 12.7 percent. The United Nations experienced its largest annual funding reduction on record, a 27 percent cut. An 87.2 percent year-on-year reduction in the US contribution drove this decline. The United States also cut its direct aid to Ukraine by 91.1 percent. However, other DAC members and the European Union increased their support. This ensured Ukraine received $44.9 billion, a sum exceeding the bilateral aid provided to all Sub-Saharan African countries. Assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa fell by 26.3 percent, totaling $24.5 billion. Aid for the world's least developed nations similarly dropped 25.8 percent, reaching $23.5 billion. The United Kingdom's aid spending decreased by over £1 billion, a 7.4 percent reduction, to £13 billion in 2025. Its aid as a share of Gross National Income moved from 0.5 percent to 0.43 percent. The UK allocated over 18 percent of its aid budget to cover costs for asylum seekers and refugees within the United Kingdom. Mikaela Gavas, managing director for the Center for Global Development Europe, stated, "Today's figures confirm that we are witnessing the steepest and most widespread contraction in ODA in a generation." She added, "It is a structural shift in how wealthy countries are choosing to engage with the world's poorest." Callum Northcote, economic justice lead at Save the Children UK, commented, "This is yet another example of the realities now facing the world's children." He continued, "The UK's decision to cut aid has poured fuel on the fire of global decision-making." Adrian Lovett, UK executive director of the ONE Campaign, criticized the UK's spending. He said, "Supporting refugees is vital, but this was never the purpose of Official Development Assistance." Lovett added, "Spending more than £2 billion of the development budget within the UK shortchanges our international partners." Gideon Rabinowitz, advocacy director at the NGO network Bond, noted, "The UK cuts are set to be the steepest in the G7." A spokesperson for the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) stated, "National security is the first duty of this government." They added, "To fund an essential increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the difficult decision to reduce the UK Official Development Assistance budget. The OECD's María del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo, Director for Development Co-operation, described the decline as something not observed since 1993-1995, during the period following the Cold War. Carsten Staur, chair of the DAC Committee, suggested that foreign aid should be increasing, not decreasing. He cited the numerous humanitarian disasters globally. Staur highlighted that over 800 million people live on less than $3 daily. Previous studies indicated the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would contribute to tens of millions of fatalities. The OECD data confirms the significant effects of this closure. The UK government began implementing its announced reduction to the aid budget. This moves from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of Gross National Income. Mikaela Gavas suggested the UK aid reductions appear to be happening faster than initially anticipated. She stated, "Over £1 billion less has been spent this year than anticipated. The OECD currently projects a further 5.8 percent decline in foreign aid next year. These projections do not yet include the potential impact of the current Middle East crisis. This crisis could represent an additional shock after two years of aid reductions. Gideon Rabinowitz warned that deeper UK cuts are still to be implemented this year and next.
