Statistics: Overseas Development Assistance

The UK development assistance program is administered by the Department for International Development (DFID) to promote the economic development and welfare of recipient countries. It is managed within financial years, the money being voted annually by Parliament. Since 1992 the statistics relating to the program are also published on a financial year basis and on a calendar year basis for both international aid comparisons and for national purposes such as the balance of payments.

Assistance is provided in two main ways:
bilateral, that is directly to recipient countries or to institutions in the UK for work on behalf of such countries,
or multilateral, that is to international institutions for their development assistance programs.

Bilateral assistance takes various forms:
Project or sector aid is finance for investment shemes primarily designed to increase the physical capital of the recipient country. Including contributions for local and recurrent costs.
Sector wide programs (typically in education, health or agriculture) comprise a combination of assistance including direct budget support financial assistance in the form of projects and technical cooperation.

Program aid is financial assistance to fund imports, sector support programs or budgetary expenditure, usually as part of or inconjunction with a World Bank/IMF coordinated structural adjustment program.

Technical cooperation is the provision of know how in the form of personnel, training, research and associated costs.

Grants and other aid in kind are used to provide equipment and supplies, and support to the development work of UK and international voluntary organisations.

Humanitarian assistance comprises food aid and other disaster relief. Aid and Trade provision is a special allocation to softern the terms of credit to developing countries by mixing aid funds with private export credits.

National statistics indicates the increase of aid budget for UK Gross Public Expenditure on Aid: The Total 4.069.570.000 £ for 2002/3 compared to 3.468.464.000 £ for the previous year.

Source: DFID, Annual Abstract of Statistics, No 140, 2004 edition