Published on 16 April 2025

Switzerland’s official development assistance

Switzerland’s official development assistance (ODA) comprises contributions from the federal government, cantons and communes aimed at supporting the economic and social development of recipient countries. ODA is recorded in accordance with the international guidelines of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Switzerland’s official development assistance (ODA) in 2024

Swiss ODA: CHF 4,053 billion (2023: CHF 4,689 billion);
Switzerland’s ODA as a proportion of gross national income (GNI): 0.51% (2023: 0.60%);
Share of asylum-related costs eligible to be recorded as ODA: CHF 1.012 billion (2023: CHF 1.311 billion);
ODA/GNI ratio excluding asylum costs: 0.38% (2023: 0.43%).

The decline in ODA in 2024 reflects the decreased asylum-related costs eligible to be recorded as ODA (CHF 300 million) and international cooperation funding (CHF 285 million) following the 2020-2023 period when additional funds were allocated in response to various major crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflicts in Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Middle East.

^{Official development assistance (ODA) as a percentage of gross national income (GNI)}

What is official development assistance (ODA)?

ODA is defined internationally. It includes both grants and other concessional financing from public sector donors to developing countries and regions, as well as contributions to multilateral development organisations (such as the United Nations, UN). To be classified as ODA, funds must meet three conditions:

They come from the public sector;
Their main objective is to promote economic development and improve living conditions;
They are provided on concessional terms. For loans and other types of financing, a grant equivalent is calculated.

Since 2018, ODA has been calculated using the grant equivalent method. This means that loans are no longer recorded in terms of financial flows between the lender and borrower (disbursements/repayments), but rather in terms of the grant equivalent of the loan (favourable conditions).

Who is involved in delivering Switzerland’s official development assistance (ODA)?

The SDC, and the Peace and Human Rights Division (PHRD) at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), as well as the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) at the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) are the three government units responsible for implementing Switzerland’s international cooperation. In 2024, their activities accounted for 67% of ODA. Other federal offices, as well as the cantons and around 200 communes, also contribute to Switzerland’s international cooperation. The reported ODA figure includes all ODA-eligible contributions from these stakeholders.

^{Composition and development of Switzerland’s official development assistance (ODA)}

Criteria and definitions

Recipient countries
The list of ODA recipient countries drawn up by the DAC includes all countries and regions (currently 141) eligible for ODA. This encompasses all low and middle-income countries except those that are members of the G8 or the EU, or those with a set EU accession date.
DAC list of recipient countries
Multilateral institutions active in development
Multilateral institutions active in development are included in a DAC list of international organisations. This list contains organisations and institutions whose financial resources can be recognised as ODA. An organisation is added to the list after a review process and unanimous approval by the members of the DAC Working Party on Development Finance Statistics (WP-STAT).
DAC list of international organisations
Public sector contributions
These include contributions from states, municipalities, or bodies acting on behalf of public institutions.
Funds provided on concessional terms
ODA contributions must be provided on concessional terms. They are mainly provided as grants, but other types of contributions can also be counted towards ODA, such as investments in development banks and concessional loans.
The grant equivalent method was introduced by the DAC in 2018 to calculate ODA for loans to the public sector. It determines the share of loans or other concessional financial instruments that can be counted towards ODA, based on the concessional terms granted. From 2023, this method has also applied to loans to the private sector and other private sector financial instruments.
Modernisation of ODA
Main objective
The main objective must be to support economic development and improve living standards in developing countries.
ODA is calculated retrospectively based on actual contributions.
ODA is considered bilateral when it is intended for specific recipient countries or areas of intervention, and multilateral when it consists of core contributions to international organisations.
Multilateral ODA includes core contributions to multilateral organisations on the DAC list. This list includes UN organisations, international financial institutions (banks and development funds), and other international development organisations.
Contributions to organisations whose activities are not exclusively intended for developing countries are counted towards ODA on a pro rata basis. The DAC coefficients are determined according to the proportion of activities that serve to promote development.
Only core contributions intended to finance the various programmes and operating costs of organisations without distinction can be declared as multilateral ODA. If a contribution to an international organisation is for a specific project, programme, or predefined country (earmarked), it is recorded as bilateral ODA. The term ‹multi-bilateral aid› is sometimes used to define this type of contribution.
It should also be noted that contributions to international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), are classified as bilateral ODA. Core contributions to multilateral organisations not listed on the DAC list cannot be counted as multilateral ODA.
The Confederation’s international cooperation is primarily implemented by the SDC, the PHRD and the SECO.
In addition to the international cooperation credits, ODA also includes contributions from other federal offices as well as aid from cantons and communes. In line with DAC calculation practices, since 2004 Switzerland’s ODA has also included bilateral debt relief measures (within the framework of the Paris Club) and certain costs associated with hosting asylum seekers from developing countries during their first year in Switzerland.
With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the additional financial resources required to achieve the SDGs, non-ODA funds have become increasingly important in development finance. For Switzerland, these mainly consist of private capital flows at market conditions (foreign direct investment, bank loans), export credits guaranteed by the Confederation, and private donations from NGOs and foundations. Remittances are also included in this category.
- Other official flows (OOFs): this category includes public sector transactions that do not meet the criteria for ODA eligibility, such as grants to developing countries for representation or primarily commercial purposes, and export credits.
- Mobilisation of private funds: the OECD has developed an international standard to measure the volume of private finance mobilised through public funding to support the SDGs. This covers all leveraging mechanisms used by development finance institutions and multilateral development banks, such as guarantees, syndicated loans, project finance, shares in collective investment vehicles, direct investment in companies, credit lines and simple co-financing.
- Private contributions: this category includes foreign direct investment in developing countries, private contributions at market conditions (loans from the Swiss National Bank to development banks), and private financing for development (private donations from NGOs and philanthropic foundations).
- Remittances: these are funds sent by foreign workers in Switzerland to developing countries (workers’ remittances).
To measure the financing of sustainable development as defined by the 2030 Agenda, a new statistical measure called ‹Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD)› was created. This statistical framework complements the ODA system by providing a more comprehensive view of sustainable development financing for developing countries. It offers a different perspective than the OECD DAC statistical system, as it focuses on the inflows in the recipient countries (pillar 1) rather than the outflows per donor country. It also captures global flows that benefit sustainable development (Pillar 2). TOSSD is managed by the International Forum on TOSSD (IFT), which Switzerland has been a member of since 2024.

Documents

Contact

SDC / Development Finance Statistics
Eichenweg 5
3003 Bern

Switzerland’s official development assistance