Gross disbursements, US$ billions

Development cooperation from emerging providers reached an estimated US$16.8 billion in 2011, accounting for 10% of combined flows from OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors and emerging providers. This is the highest share since 2000, with levels more than quadrupling, while aid from DAC donors only doubled.

While emerging donors’ development cooperation is not new, it is expanding rapidly with widening political and economic engagement between developing countries. Development cooperation is seen as an aspect of this deepening of relationships, bringing mutual benefits to provider and partner countries, rather than the donor-recipient relationship based on aid.

Some of the increase over the last decade is due to improving information. Data was available for 12 countries in 2000, rising to 25 by 2011 (Brazil only has data until 2010). There is a session dedicated to ‘South-South cooperation’ at the Global Partnership meeting in Mexico, with the host country publishing details of its cooperation.

Some of these emerging providers’ cooperation is similar in scale to DAC donors’ official development assistance (ODA). The two largest providers are China and Saudi Arabia, disbursing US$5.5 billion and US$5.2 billion in 2011, similar to ODA from G7 donor Canada. Turkey and Brazil each disbursed over US$1 billion, with levels similar to ODA from Korea and Austria respectively.

While these flows are small compared with ODA or investment, for example, they can help meet post-2015 global development and poverty eradication goals. Better access, availability and quality of data can lead to better use and allocation of these flows.

Data are available in Excel and CSV format.

Notes:

Gross disbursements, 2000–2011, all amounts in constant 2011 prices.
Based on OECD DAC database and national sources.
Countries included are: Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Kuwait (KFAED), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Czech Republic, Iceland, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic have joined the DAC since 2011.
For details on methodology and sources see the full report.

Source:

Development Initiatives, Development cooperation for the future (April 2014): full research paper and policy summary.