In this article, we list the 10 Countries That Gave the Most Foreign Aid in 2023. If you want to see our detailed discussion of the topic, you can go to 25 Countries That Gave the Most Foreign Aid in 2023.
10. Luxembourg
Being the third wealthiest country in the world depending on GDP per capita, Luxembourg’s multilateral cooperation mainly focuses on global health. According to the Principled Aid Index Luxembourg has scored an impressive 21.29 out of 30 on the Principled Aid index, with a score of 6.34 for the development gaps, 6.80 for global cooperation, and 8.15 for public spiritedness.
9. Iceland
Iceland has a reputation for being one of the top ten countries that give the most foreign aid, and in 2023, it retained its position on the list. As soon as UNRWA launched its urgent appeal for Palestine, Iceland stepped forward and contributed around 0.53 million USD, which counts as one of the top contributions Iceland has made to the organization. For 2023’s foreign aid, Iceland donated slightly more than Luxembourg, securing a total score of 21.72 on the Principled Aid index. Iceland contributed the most towards development gaps, with a score of 8.93. Its donations in the global cooperation and public spiritedness domains were more or less equal, coming at a score of 6.02 and 6.77 respectively.
8. Netherlands
In mid-2022, the Netherlands decided to increase its total ODA spending by 316 million USD between 2022 and 2024. Presently, this budget is expected to increase further, and a large chunk of it will go towards humanitarian support and supporting refugees. The Netherlands also hopes to structurally increase its ODA spending by 500 million euros every year from 2025 onwards. In 2023, the Netherlands contributed an additional 15 million euros for humanitarian aid to be available for the people of Gaza.
According to the Principled Aid Index Netherlands scored 21.84 out of 30 with a score of 6 for the development gaps, 7.94 for global cooperation, and 7.9 for public spiritedness.
7. Canada
Seventh on the list, Canada had a foreign aid budget of 6.9 billion USD in 2023. Although this was 15% less than its budget for 2022, Canada still spent significantly more on ODA than the Netherlands. The Principled Aid index shows Canada’s score for 2023’s aid was 22.42 out of 30, while the disaggregated scoring was at 6.45 for the development gaps, 8.3 for global cooperation, and 7.67 for public spiritedness. Overall.
6. Denmark
For 2023, the Danish Foreign Ministry distributed humanitarian aid packages worth 4.2 million USD for UNICEF for child protection, $2.8 million for the World Food Program, $1.28 million for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and $2.2 million to the International Committee of Red Cross.
In 2023, Denmark spent billions on foreign aid. However, it plans to spend even more in 2024, because for the first time in five decades, Denmark’s overseas development assistance dropped below the 0.7% mark in the last year. The government hopes to allocate more funds and regain its position on the list of countries that consistently meet or exceed the United Nations target of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA. On ODI’s Principled Aid Index, Denmark scored 22.53 out of 30 overall.
5. United States
The United States is one of the largest economies in the world today, and also one of the leading countries in terms of ODA. The US foreign aid for the year 2023 was around $45 billion, with Israel, Vietnam, Egypt, and Afghanistan being the top four countries that received over a quarter of all US foreign aid since 1946.
For 2023’s foreign aid, the US scores 22.6 out of 30 on the Principled Aid Index, with a score of 6.72 for the development gaps, 8.7 for global cooperation, and 7.17 for public spiritedness.
4. United Kingdom
Ranked number 4, the United Kingdom scored just slightly more than the US on the Principled Aid Index (22.74/30), which means it spent only slightly above $45 billion on foreign aid during 2023. According to aggregated data, the UK government spent around $6.51 billion on foreign economic aid during the year.
The Principled Aid Index further demonstrates that the country spent 5.88 for the development gaps, 9.21 for global cooperation, and 7.64 for public spiritedness.
3. Norway
For the year 2023, Norway contributed around $385 million for health-related ODA. The Principled Aid index shows Norway’s score of 24.04 out of 30, which is significantly more than that of the UK and the US. More importantly, Norway spent more than any other country on global cooperation in 2023, with a score of 10. Also, it had a score of 5.98 for the development gaps and 8.05 for public spiritedness.
2. Ireland
The Irish government provided around $1.34 billion to ODA for the year 2023. The Irish Aid funding is specifically used to support emergency and humanitarian crises around the world. Ireland scored 24.82 out of 30 in the Principled Aid Index, with the disaggregated scores being 8.53 for the development gaps, 6.72 for global cooperation, and 9.57 for public spiritedness.
1. Sweden
Topping the list is Sweden, which allocated 0.88% of its GNI to ODA, which was 0.18% more than the UN’s set target. In the 2023 budget, the Swedish government has set a fixed ODA amount of $5.5 billion annually for three years (2023-2025). The PA index shows Sweden had the highest score: 25.17 out of 30. In comparison to all the other countries on our list, Sweden is undoubtedly the one in the lead, with a score of 7.77 for development gaps, 9.47 for global cooperation, and 7.93 for public spiritedness.
Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily enewsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below. You can also take a peek at 50 Richest Countries in the World by GDP Per Capita in 2024 and 30 Hungriest Countries In The World.
