Development Co‑operation Profiles: New Zealand
Table of contents
New Zealand’s development co-operation primarily focuses on small island developing states (SIDS) in the Pacific region. It seeks to support the social, environmental, economic, and stability and governance pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New Zealand’s total official development assistance (ODA) (USD 681.1 million, preliminary data) decreased in 2025, representing 0.27% of gross national income (GNI).
This profile presents verified data on New Zealand’s development assistance allocations. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
New Zealand’s development co-operation aims to achieve a peaceful world, where all people live in dignity and safety, all countries can prosper, and the environment is protected. The 2019 policy statement, International Cooperation for Effective Sustainable Development, commits New Zealand to work towards global solutions to sustainable development challenges, particularly climate change and its impacts. New Zealand’s strategic priorities are articulated in the International Development Co-operation Priorities Framework, in alignment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Strategic Framework. New Zealand’s ODA focuses on SIDS and least developed countries (LDCs), with a primary geographic focus on the Pacific and a secondary geographic focus on Southeast Asia. Inclusion is one of New Zealand’s four priority domains, reflecting its commitment to advancing gender equality and inclusive development.
Beyond its bilateral co-operation, New Zealand engages in and supports the multilateral system and humanitarian assistance and advocates for SIDS internationally. Underpinned by a human rights-based approach, New Zealand considers gender equality, disability inclusion and social inclusion in all its international development initiatives. Committed to policy coherence for development, New Zealand seeks to eliminate harmful fossil fuel and fisheries subsidies; promotes an open, rules-based trading system; and has undertaken efforts to ensure a positive development impact for Pacific Island countries that participate in relevant labour mobility schemes.
The 2023 OECD-DAC Peer Review of New Zealand’s development co-operation praised its strong political commitment to working in a way that is partner-led, its focus on indigenous knowledge and values in partnerships and policymaking, civil society funding that helps strengthen local organisations, and scaled-up international climate finance commitments. The review encouraged New Zealand to streamline its policy framework to make the most of the closer integration of diplomatic and development efforts, undertake strategic workforce planning, and strengthen efforts to generate a sense of global citizenship among New Zealanders. The Peer Review found that New Zealand had fully or partially implemented 14 of the 17 recommendations of the 2015 review. A mid-term review of New Zealand’s progress since 2023 is expected in 2026.
Learn more about New Zealand’s 2023 Peer Review and the New Zealand government’s management response. Learn from New Zealand’s practices in Development Co-operation Tools Insights Practices.
New Zealand provided USD 681.1 million (preliminary data) of ODA in 2025 (USD 682.6 million in constant terms), representing 0.27% of GNI.1 This was a decrease of 12.8% in real terms in volume and a decrease in the share of GNI from 2024. The decrease partly reflects fluctuations linked to its three-year budget cycle, noting that a significant proportion of the 2025 calendar year covers the first year of the triennium when there is a normal dip in outflows. While ODA had increased overall since 2017, it declined sharply in 2022, increasing again in 2023 and remaining relatively steady in 2024. New Zealand’s ODA is not in line with international commitments to achieve a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio. In 2024, 100% of New Zealand’s ODA portfolio was provided in the form of grants. As such, total ODA on a grant-equivalent basis has the same value as net ODA under the cash-flow methodology used in the past.
In 2025, New Zealand ranked 23rd among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members in terms of ODA volume and 18th when ODA is taken as a share of GNI. In accordance with its geographic focus, New Zealand has the highest share of bilateral ODA to SIDS among DAC countries, as well as the highest share of bilateral ODA to Oceania. New Zealand also has a relatively high share of country-programmable aid, ranking fifth in 2024.
New Zealand is committed to several international targets and DAC standards and recommendations. Learn more about DAC Recommendations.
Notes: This table only includes information about ODA data-related DAC recommendations. ODA: official development assistance; GNI: gross national income; DAC: Development Assistance Committee.
New Zealand provided most of its ODA bilaterally in 2024. Gross bilateral ODA was 88% of total ODA disbursements. Of this, 31.9% was channelled through multilateral organisations (earmarked contributions).
In 2024, New Zealand provided USD 314 million of gross ODA to the multilateral system, an increase of 5% in real terms from 2023. Of this, USD 94 million was core multilateral ODA (12% of total ODA), while USD 220.1 million was non-core contributions earmarked for a specific country, region, theme or purpose. Project-type funding earmarked for a specific theme and/or country accounted for 28.2% of New Zealand’s non-core contributions, and 71.8% was programmatic funding (to pooled funds and specific-purpose programmes and funds).
The United Nations (UN) system received 48.1% of New Zealand’s contributions to multilateral organisations, of which USD 103.4 million (68.5%) represented earmarked contributions. Of a total volume of USD 151 million to the UN system, the top three UN recipients of New Zealand’s support (core and earmarked contributions) were the United Nations Development Programme (USD 34.3 million), World Food Programme (USD 20.7 million), and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (USD 18 million).
See the section on Geographic, sectoral and thematic focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system.
Learn more by exploring the DAC members’ use of the multilateral system dashboard.
In 2024, New Zealand’s bilateral spending increased compared to the previous year. It provided USD 689 million of gross bilateral ODA (which includes earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations). This represented an increase of 5.1% in real terms from 2023.
In 2024, country programmable aid amounted to USD 444.5 million, or 64.5% of New Zealand’s gross bilateral ODA, compared to the DAC country average of 46.5%.
New Zealand’s in-donor refugee costs amounted to USD 13.6 million (2% of gross bilateral ODA) in 2024, while humanitarian aid was USD 66.3 million, or 10.5% of gross bilateral ODA.
New Zealand disbursed USD 28.6 million for triangular co-operation in 2024 predominantly in Oceania and with a focus on government and civil society. Learn more about triangular co-operation.
In 2024, New Zealand channelled its bilateral ODA mainly through public sector and multilateral organisations. Technical co-operation made up 10.8% of gross ODA in 2024.
In 2024, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 82.9 million of gross bilateral ODA, of which 10.9% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, 2.2% of gross bilateral ODA was allocated to CSOs as core contributions and 9.8% was channelled through CSOs to implement projects initiated by the provider (earmarked funding). From 2023 to 2024, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs decreased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 14.1% to 12%.
Learn more by reading the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid and by exploring the ODA to civil society organisations dashboard.
In 2024, New Zealand’s bilateral ODA primarily focused on Oceania and Asia. USD 456.3 million was allocated to Oceania and USD 83.7 million to Asia (excluding the Middle East), accounting respectively for 66.2% and 12.2% of gross bilateral ODA. USD 23.4 million was allocated to countries in Africa. Oceania was also the main regional recipient of New Zealand’s earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations in line with policy priorities.
In 2024, 34.7% of gross bilateral ODA went to New Zealand’s top 10 recipients. Nine of its top 10 recipients are in the Pacific region, in line with New Zealand’s focus on its Pacific neighbourhood. The share of gross bilateral ODA not allocated by country was 50.2%, of which 3.9% consisted of expenditures for processing and hosting refugees in ODA provider countries.
In 2024, New Zealand allocated 0.06% of its GNI to the least developed countries (LDCs). New Zealand allocated the highest share of gross bilateral ODA (18.3%) to least developed countries in 2024, equal to USD 126 million, noting that 50.2% was unallocated by income group. New Zealand allocated 2.4% of gross bilateral ODA to land-locked developing countries in 2024, equal to USD 16.7 million. New Zealand also allocated 66.2% of gross bilateral ODA to SIDS in 2024, equal to USD 456 million.
The distribution of New Zealand’s ODA in net terms in relation to “ODA per person in extreme poverty”2 was USD 0.2 in LDCs, USD 0.3 in lower middle-income countries (LMICs) and USD 0.7 in upper middle‑income countries.
In 2025, New Zealand provided USD 5.8 million of net bilateral ODA to Ukraine to respond to the impacts of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, a 51.8% decrease from 2024 in real terms. USD 5.8 million of the amount was humanitarian assistance in 2025, a 51.8% decrease in real terms from 2024.
Support to contexts with high and extreme fragility was USD 122.1 million in 2024, representing 17.7% of New Zealand’s gross bilateral ODA. Of this, 25.9% was provided in the form of humanitarian assistance, an increase from 23% in 2023, while 17.9% was allocated to peace, an increase from 13.8% in 2023. Conflict prevention, a subset of contributions to peace, represented 8.1% of gross bilateral ODA, increasing from 5.7% in 2023.
Learn more about the States of Fragility platform.
In 2024, the largest sectoral focus of New Zealand’s bilateral ODA was social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 34.2% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 216.7 million), with an emphasis on support to government and civil society (USD 110.3 million), health and population (USD 58.9 million) and education (USD 26.6 million). ODA for other macro sectors totalled USD 139.1 million, with a focus on administrative costs of the donor (USD 64.6 million). Multi-sector ODA amounted to USD 98.8 million (15.6% of bilateral ODA). Earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations similarly focused on social sectors and other macro sectors in 2024.
In the period 2023-2024, New Zealand committed 69.3% of screened bilateral allocable ODA to gender equality and women’s empowerment compared to 55% in 2021-2022 and a DAC average of 48.2% in 2023-2024. This is equal to USD 344.1 million of screened bilateral allocable ODA in support of gender equality on average per year. In addition:
The share of screened bilateral allocable ODA committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment as a principal objective was 4.9% in 2023-2024, compared with the DAC average of 4.2%.
New Zealand includes gender equality objectives in 62.1% of ODA for humanitarian aid, well above the 2023-2024 DAC average of 21.5%.
New Zealand screens virtually all bilateral allocable ODA against the DAC gender equality policy marker (100% in 2023-2024).
New Zealand committed USD 3.9 million of ODA to end violence against women and girls, and USD 6.5 million to support women’s rights organisations and movements, and government institutions, on average per year in 2023-2024.
Learn more by reading the DAC Recommendation on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance and the DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation in Development Co-operation, and by exploring the development finance for gender equality dashboard.
In 2023-2024, New Zealand committed 57.8% of its total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 286.9 million) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions, up from 39.9% in 2021-2022. The DAC average was 39%. In addition:
28.3% of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, well above the DAC average of 11.2%.
51.3% of total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 254.9 million) focused on climate change overall (the DAC average was 35.4%), up from 30.5% in 2021-2022. New Zealand had a greater focus on adaptation (50.3%) than on mitigation (29.2%) in 2023-2024.
22.4% of screened bilateral allocable ODA (USD 111 million) focused on biodiversity overall (the DAC average was 8.6%), up significantly from 6.3% in 2021-2022.
4% of screened bilateral allocable ODA (USD 20 million) focused on desertification overall (the DAC average was 4.2%), up from 0.1% in 2021-2022.
Learn more about the DAC Declaration on Aligning Development Co-operation with the Goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The OECD’s tracking of ODA for the sustainable ocean economy shows that New Zealand committed USD 58.7 million in support of the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in 2024, USD 28.9 million more than in 2023. The 2024 value is equivalent to 11.8% of New Zealand’s bilateral allocable ODA.
In 2024, New Zealand:
Allocated 7.2% of its bilateral ODA (USD 49.4 million) to core poverty-reducing sectors as defined by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1.a.1. This indicator captures grants to basic social services (such as basic health and education, water supply and sanitation, multisector aid for basic social services) and development food aid. In addition, 0.3% of New Zealand’s bilateral ODA (USD 1.9 million) went to social protection support. Learn more by exploring the Reducing poverty and inequalities through ODA data explainer.
Committed USD 2.7 million (0.5% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to address the immediate or underlying determinants of malnutrition in developing countries across a variety of sectors, such as other multisector, water supply and sanitation, and health.
Committed USD 132.5 million (26.7% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to development co-operation projects and programmes that promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
Committed USD 112.2 million (22.6% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to promote aid for trade and improve developing countries’ trade performance and integration into the world economy in 2024. Learn more by exploring the Aid for Trade dashboard.
Does not generally seek exemptions for the payment of local tax and customs duties for ODA‑funded goods and services. New Zealand does not have a specific policy and does not make information available on the OECD Digital Transparency Hub on the Tax Treatment of ODA.
In 2024, total official and private flows from New Zealand to developing countries amounted to USD 980.2 million in net terms. Official sources accounted for USD 797.6 million while USD 182.6 million originated from private sources.
Total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) is an international statistical standard that monitors and increases the transparency of all official and officially supported resources for financing the SDGs received by developing countries (Pillar 1) and for addressing global challenges (Pillar 2). In 2024, activities reported by New Zealand as TOSSD totalled USD 821 million, marking a 1% increase compared with the previous year.
Activity-level data on TOSSD by recipient are available at: https://tossd.online.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) is responsible for the majority of New Zealand’s ODA, with the remainder delivered by other government ministries and agencies. However, New Zealand does not report the different government channels disbursing ODA. MFAT’s Pacific and Development Group leads an integrated approach to New Zealand’s foreign policy and development engagement with Pacific countries. The Pacific and Development Group is also responsible for New Zealand’s development work outside the Pacific.
The ministry has about 350 staff working on development, 31% of which are in country offices and embassies abroad.
New Zealand’s Auditor-General occasionally reviews New Zealand’s contributions to the 2030 Agenda and sustainable development. Most recently, this included a 2025 review of the management of New Zealand’s climate finance investment in the Pacific.
CSOs active in development co-operation, humanitarian assistance and global citizenship education co‑ordinate under the umbrella body, the Council for International Development.
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development placed a renewed emphasis on strengthening the effectiveness of all forms of development co-operation by upholding and elevating the Effectiveness Principles. Adherence to these principles is measured through the partner country-led monitoring exercise of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC).
Notes: The global aggregate results of the 4th GPEDC monitoring round (2023-2026) will be published in the forthcoming 2026 GPEDC Global Monitoring Report. Learn more about partner countries’ participation, progress and country-specific results by exploring the GPEDC Global Dashboard. CRS: Creditor Reporting System; IATI: International Aid Transparency Initiative.
Internal systems and processes help ensure the delivery of New Zealand’s development co-operation. The table below highlights select features.
Access the full list of development co-operation providers at: Development Co-operation Profiles.
2023 OECD-DAC Peer Review of New Zealand: https://doi.org/10.1787/10883ac5-en.
Council for International Development (CID): https://www.cid.org.nz.
DevData: https://devdata.mfat.govt.nz.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT): https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/aid-and-development.
New Zealand’s Policy Statement for International Cooperation for Effective Sustainable Development: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Aid-Prog-docs/Policy/Policy-Statement-New-Zealands-International-Cooperation-for-Effective-Sustainable-Development-ICESD.pdf.
New Zealand has been a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) since 1973.
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including the grant-equivalent methodology, core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, country programmable aid, channels of delivery, bilateral ODA unspecified/unallocated, bilateral allocable ODA, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
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← 1. DAC members adopted the grant-equivalent methodology starting from their reporting of 2018 data as a more accurate way to count the donor effort in development loans. See the methodological notes for further details.
← 2. Aid per person in extreme poverty is calculated by dividing net ODA (bilateral and imputed multilateral) by the population in extreme poverty in each country. It estimates how much ODA each person in extreme poverty would receive if total ODA was divided evenly among the extreme poor. This metric does not measure the amount of ODA actually received by each person in extreme poverty, nor does it measure how much ODA goes to poverty reduction. It instead highlights patterns in total ODA allocations relative to the number of people living in extreme poverty in each country. Group averages are calculated based on a weighted average of aid per person in extreme poverty and the number of people in extreme poverty for each country in the group. See the methodological notes for further details.