South Korea's Official Development Assistance Reached $2.25 Billion Last Year... 16th Among OECD Countries

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seonhee] Last year, South Korea's official development assistance (ODA) amounted to a total of 2.25 billion dollars, ranking 16th among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

According to the provisional ODA statistics for last year released on the 13th (local time) by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) for its 29 member countries, South Korea executed ODA of this scale. However, this figure decreased by 210 million dollars compared to 2019 due to the impact of COVID-19 last year, including a reduction in bilateral aid and decreased contributions and investments to regional development banks. South Korea's ranking among member countries also dropped one notch from 15th the previous year.

The total ODA volume of all DAC member countries was 161.2 billion dollars, with the average ratio of ODA to gross national income (GNI), which indicates aid level relative to economic size, at 0.32%. The country with the largest aid volume was the United States, followed by Germany.

South Korea joined the OECD DAC in 2010. At that time, the aid volume was only 1.3 trillion won, but last year it nearly tripled to 3.7 trillion won. The government plans to expand the ODA volume to over 6.4 trillion won by 2030, taking the lead in realizing global values such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and establishing a foundation for mutual development with recipient countries through digital ODA and Green New Deal ODA.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination stated, "Since 2010, the average annual ODA growth rate of all DAC member countries has been around 2.7%, but South Korea's average annual growth rate is 9.7%, maintaining a top-level position (2nd) among member countries," and added, "Through quantitative and qualitative growth, it has established itself as a middle-ranking donor country."

Furthermore, it said, "Last year, while playing a leading role in overcoming the global crisis caused by COVID-19, we also strengthened the legal and institutional foundations for efficient ODA implementation," and "Going forward, our government will actively lead international solidarity and cooperation for the economic and social development of developing countries."