Ukraine becomes largest recipient of Finland’s ODA again

Ukraine was the largest recipient of Finland’s official development assistance (ODA) spending in 2023 for the second consecutive year, according to a report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday.

The support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion was clearly reflected in the 2023 official development assistance (ODA) spending of Finland and many other EU Member States, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release referring to the OECD report.

The OECD released preliminary data on ODA in 2023 by the 32 member countries of its Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

The preliminary data shows that Ukraine received by far the largest amount of assistance. DAC members used EUR 18.5 billion in ODA to support Ukraine in 2023.

Finland’s official development assistance (ODA) in 2023 totalled EUR 1,452 million, showing a decline of EUR 84 million on 2022. This represented 0.52 per cent of Finland’s gross national income (GNI), according to the OECD’s preliminary data. In real terms, Finland’s ODA spending fell by 9.5 per cent.

Finland’s exclusive ODA, administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, totalled EUR 750 million, while Finland’s other ODA totalled EUR 702 million.

Other ODA include Finland’s share of the EU’s ODA budget, development policy loans and investments and a part of the costs generated by refugee reception.

The greatest reduction was seen in in-donor refugee costs counted as ODA. In 2023, the costs were EUR 231 million, showing a decline of EUR 159 million on 2022.

A very significant part of the sum was still spent on addressing the temporary protection needs of Ukrainians in Finland.

The overall change was balanced by development policy loans and investments, whose ODA-eligible share was EUR 108 million in 2023, showing a rise of EUR 58 million on the previous year.

A significant share of Finland’s ODA in 2023 was channelled through the UN (EUR 310 million), the EU (EUR 268 million) and the World Bank Group (EUR 156 million).

An estimated EUR 370 million, representing 0.13 per cent of Finland’s GNI, was allocated to least developed countries (LDCs), including imputed shares of multilateral organisations.

Preliminary data shows that a total of EUR 64 million was spent on supporting Ukraine (excluding in-donor refugee costs).

Last year, Finland granted EUR 125 million in humanitarian assistance as part of the official development assistance. Humanitarian assistance is a way of responding rapidly to sudden effects of natural disasters, armed conflicts and other crises when people's lives are in imminent danger.