Most OECD countries fail to reach the UN’s target for aid to the poorest countries

In 1981, the major foreign aid donor countries, also known as the Development Assistance Committee, made a promise at the UN: to aim for at least 0.15% of their national income to assist the world's least developed countries — about 1 dollar out of 700.

Over the years, they repeated this pledge. But by 2022, most countries failed to honor this promise. The chart shows the 20 OECD countries giving the most aid, as a percentage of their national income, to the world’s poorest nations.

Only three countries met the target: Luxembourg, Sweden, and Norway.

Some countries are so wealthy that even a rounding error in their budgets could mean the difference between life and death for people in the poorest parts of the world.