- Policy
- ODA allocation overview
- ODA to and through the multilateral system
- Bilateral ODA
- Geographic, sectoral and thematic focus of ODA
- Private sector instruments
- Mobilised private finance
- Total Official Support for Sustainable Development
- Institutional set-up
- Quality and oversight
- Other profiles
- Additional resources
Development Co‑operation Profiles: Sweden
Table of contents
Sweden is an ambitious and influential actor in sustainable development with a strong track record of delivering support for poverty reduction and a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Sweden is committed to making its development assistance more focused, relevant, effective and transparent. Swedish co‑operation is currently focused on Ukraine, humanitarian support, democracy, climate action, gender equality, trade and migration. Sweden’s total official development assistance (ODA) decreased in 2024 to USD 5 billion (preliminary data), representing 0.79% of gross national income (GNI).
This profile presents verified data on development assistance allocation. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
The government presented a reform agenda for Swedish development assistance on 14 December 2023. The agenda, Development Assistance for a New Era – Freedom, Empowerment and Sustainable Growth, outlines a new direction for Swedish development assistance. Sweden’s thematic priorities include poverty reduction through job creation, trade and education; health; effective climate funding; protecting freedom; women’s and girls’ empowerment; and synergies between development assistance and migration policy. In 2024, Sweden also set out a new Strategy for Sweden’s Global Development Cooperation Activities in the Areas of Human Rights and Freedoms, Democracy and the Rule of Law 2024-2028, which aims to create preconditions for better living conditions for people living in poverty and under oppression, and to strengthen and protect global norms and processes.
Sweden has traditionally been a strong supporter of the multilateral system. The 2024 Strategy for Sweden’s Global Development Cooperation seeks to increase the impact of Swedish support on the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) and international financial institutions. It also envisions increased support for civil society and more catalytic public-private partnerships.
The OECD-DAC mid-term review, published in 2023, acknowledged Sweden’s effective and efficient development co-operation system, which benefits from high-calibre staff, and encouraged Sweden to retain and build on these strengths. It also encouraged Sweden to ensure that its ODA spending is based on clear criteria, is well co-ordinated with other actors, remains poverty-focused and is supported by responsible exit strategies to make the most of Sweden’s long-term investments and partnerships. The mid-term review noted that Sweden had made progress on eight of the nine recommendations of its 2019 Peer Review, with limited progress on one. The next OECD-DAC Peer Review of Sweden is planned for 2026. Discover insights from Sweden’s 2019 Peer Review and 2023 mid-term review, and learn from Sweden’s practices in Development Co-operation Tools Insights Practices (TIPs).
Sweden provided USD 5 billion (preliminary data) of ODA in 2024 (USD 4.9 billion in constant terms) representing 0.79% of GNI.1 This was a decrease of 13.4% in real terms in volume and a decrease in the share of GNI from 2023. Sweden was the first country to meet the UN target of allocating 0.7% of GNI to ODA in 1975, and its allocation has remained consistently above this threshold since then. In a departure from its 2006 target of providing 1% of GNI to ODA, Sweden budgeted for ODA to represent 0.88% of the projected GNI for the years 2023‑25. Sweden continues to surpass and remain committed, at the European level, to collectively achieving a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio by 2030. Total ODA on a grant-equivalent basis has the same value as net ODA under the cash-flow methodology used in the past, as Sweden provides only grants.
In 2024, Sweden ranked 3rd among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries when ODA is taken as a share of GNI. In 2023, Sweden continued to be a strong supporter of the UN system, which received over 40% of Swedish multilateral funding of which 40% was core support. Among DAC members, Sweden has one of the highest levels of ODA channelled to and through civil society organisations (CSOs) (32.8%). Sweden caps in-donor refugee costs as a share of its ODA budget, which represented 7.8% of gross bilateral ODA in 2023.
Sweden has committed to several international targets and DAC standards and recommendations. Learn more about DAC Recommendations.
Note: This table only includes information about ODA data-related DAC Recommendations. ODA: official development assistance; GNI: gross national income; DAC: Development Assistance Committee.
Sweden provided a higher share of its ODA bilaterally in 2023. Gross bilateral ODA was 58.9% of total ODA disbursements. Thirty-eight per cent of gross bilateral ODA was channelled through multilateral organisations (earmarked contributions). Sweden: Bilateral and multilateral ODA allocations
In 2023, Sweden provided USD 3.5 billion of gross ODA to the multilateral system, an increase of 9.1% in real terms from 2022. Of this, USD 2.3 billion was core multilateral ODA (41.4% of total ODA), while USD 1.2 billion 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 18.4% of Sweden’s non-core contributions and 81.6% was programmatic funding (to pooled funds and specific-purpose programmes and funds).
The UN system received 40.5% of Sweden’s contributions to multilateral organisations, of which USD 877.6 million (61.6%) represented earmarked contributions. Out of a total volume of USD 1.4 billion to the UN system, the top three UN recipients of Sweden’s support (core and earmarked contributions) were UNICEF (USD 213.8 million), WFP (USD 169.7 million) and UNDP (USD 168.7 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 dashboard on DAC members’ use of the multilateral system.
In 2023, Sweden’s bilateral spending declined compared to the previous year. It provided USD 3.3 billion of gross bilateral ODA (which includes earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations). This represented a decrease of 9.2% in real terms from 2022.
In 2023, country programmable aid amounted to USD 1.4 billion, or 43.5% of Sweden’s gross bilateral ODA, compared to the DAC country average of 43.1%. In-donor refugee costs were USD 253.7 million in 2023 representing 7.8% of Sweden’s gross bilateral ODA. This was a decrease of 34.8% in real terms over 2022.
In 2023, Sweden channelled its bilateral ODA mainly through multilateral organisations, non‑governmental organisations and the public sector. Technical co-operation made up 5.1% of gross ODA in 2023.
In 2023, CSOs received USD 1.1 billion of gross bilateral ODA, of which 10.5% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, 4.8% of gross bilateral ODA was allocated to CSOs as core contributions and 28% was channelled through CSOs to implement projects initiated by the donor (earmarked funding). From 2022 to 2023, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs slightly increased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 31.6% to 32.8%. Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
In 2023, Sweden’s bilateral ODA primarily focused on countries in Africa. USD 1.1 billion was allocated to countries in Africa and USD 433 million to ODA-eligible countries in Europe (of which 56.6% for Ukraine), accounting respectively for 33.4% and 13.3% of gross bilateral ODA. USD 299.7 million was allocated to countries in Asia (excluding the Middle East). The geographic focus is in line with Sweden’s overall policy.
In 2023, 26.8% of gross bilateral ODA went to Sweden’s top 10 recipients. Ukraine is the top recipient of Sweden’s ODA, in line with its focus on its immediate neighbourhood, with countries in Africa (Democratic Republic Congo, Mozambique and Ethiopia) in the top five reflecting its policy focus. The share of gross bilateral ODA not allocated by country was 42.4%, of which 18.4% consisted of expenditures for processing and hosting refugees in provider countries.
In 2023, Sweden allocated 0.30% of its GNI to the least developed countries (LDCs). This amounted to 31.3% of gross bilateral ODA (31.3%) to LDCs in 2023, while 42.4% was unallocated by income group. Sweden allocated 18.3% of gross bilateral ODA to land-locked developing countries in 2023, equal to USD 595.6 million.
Looking at the distribution of Sweden’s ODA in relation to “ODA per person in extreme poverty”,2 the amount was USD 2.5 per person in LDCs, USD 2 in LMICs and USD 7.1 in UMICs.
In 2024, Sweden provided USD 415.4 million of net bilateral ODA to Ukraine to respond to the impacts of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a 67.8% increase from 2023 in real terms. USD 95.6 million of the amount was humanitarian assistance in 2024, a 20.6% decrease from 2023.
Support to contexts with high and extreme fragility was USD 1.3 billion in 2023, representing 40% of Sweden’s gross bilateral ODA. Thirty-four per cent of this ODA was provided in the form of humanitarian assistance, an increase from 30.8% in 2022, while 21.1% was allocated to peace, a decrease from 22.9% in 2022. Five per cent of gross bilateral ODA went to conflict prevention, a subset of contributions to peace, representing a decrease from 6.5% in 2022. Learn more about the OECD States of Fragility platform.
In 2023, the largest focus of Sweden’s bilateral ODA was on social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 47.1% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 1.2 billion), with a strong focus on support to government and civil society (USD 706.2 million) and health and population (USD 261.6 million). ODA for other macro sectors totalled USD 555.4 million, with around half allocated to spending on refugees in donor countries (USD 253.7 million). Humanitarian assistance amounted to USD 282.9 million (11.4% of bilateral ODA). Earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations focused also on social sectors and other macro sectors in 2023.
In the period 2022-23, Sweden committed 66.2% of screened bilateral allocable ODA to gender equality and women’s empowerment, compared to 73.3% in 2020-213 and a 2022-23 DAC average of 45.8%. This is equal to USD 1.4 billion 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 9.8% in 2022-23, compared with the DAC average of 4%.
Sweden includes gender equality objectives in 43.8% of ODA for humanitarian aid, above the 2022‑23 DAC average of 19.1%.
Sweden screens the majority of bilateral allocable ODA activities against the DAC gender equality policy marker (93.4% in 2022-23).
Sweden committed USD 24.9 million of ODA to end violence against women and girls and USD 45.1 million to support women’s rights organisations and movements, and government institutions on average in 2022-23.
Learn more about 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 dashboard on DAC members’ development finance for gender equality.
In 2022-23, Sweden committed 44.7% of its total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 1 billion) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions, up from 34.1% in 2020-21. The DAC average was 39% in 2022-23. In addition:
Seventeen per cent of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, compared with the DAC average of 9.6%.
Twenty-nine per cent of total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 670.2 million) focused on climate change overall, up from 21.2% in 2020-21 (the DAC average was 34.8%). Sweden had a greater focus on adaptation (27.5%) than on mitigation (14.9%) in 2022-23.
Sixteen per cent of screened bilateral allocable ODA (USD 340.3 million) focused on biodiversity overall, up from 12.5% in 2020-21 (the DAC average was 7.6%).
Learn more about the DAC Declaration on Aligning Development Co-operation with the Goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Note: Individual Rio Markers should not be added up as this can result in double counting.
The OECD’s tracking of ODA for the sustainable ocean economy shows that Sweden committed USD 43.5 million in support of the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in 2023, USD 3.6 million less than in 2022. The 2023 value is equivalent to 2.2% of Sweden’s bilateral allocable ODA.
In 2023, Sweden:
Allocated 6.3% of its bilateral ODA (USD 204.8 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) and development food aid. In addition, 1.7% of bilateral ODA (USD 55.6 million) went to social protection support.
Committed USD 3.8 million (0.2% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to address the immediate or underlying determinants of malnutrition in developing countries across a variety of sectors, such as health.
Committed USD 167.6 million (8.4% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to development co-operation projects and programmes that promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
Committed USD 10 million (0.5% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to the mobilisation of domestic resources in developing countries. Regarding the payment of local tax and customs duties for ODA-funded goods and services, Sweden sometimes seeks exemptions. It does not have a general policy; however, it makes information available on the OECD Digital Transparency Hub on the Tax Treatment of ODA.
Committed USD 274.1 million (13.7% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to promote aid for trade and improve developing countries’ trade performance and integration into the world economy in 2023.
To build markets in developing countries and incentivise greater mobilisation of private resources for development, many providers, including Sweden, have established development finance institutions (DFIs) and similar vehicles that extend private sector instruments (PSI). Sida’s guarantee instrument and Swedfund International AB (Swedfund) were assessed as ODA-eligible PSI vehicles. PSI represented 2.5% of Sweden’s ODA in 2023 while the DAC average stood at 1.3%.
In 2023, Sida’s guarantee instrument and Swedfund extended USD 147.6 million in the form of PSI to developing countries.4 Of this, loans accounted for 19.3% whereas equities accounted for 80.7%.
In 2023, USD 3.3 million (2.2%) of Sweden’s PSI were allocated to the LDCs and other LICs, while 20.2% went to LMICs. USD 114.5 million was unallocated by income. Sweden’s PSI primarily supported projects in the energy (47%) and banking and financial services (47%) sectors.
Sweden uses leveraging mechanisms to mobilise private finance for sustainable development. In 2023, Sweden’s development finance institution, Swedfund and Sida mobilised USD 331.8 million from the private sector through guarantees, shares in CIVs, simple co-financing and credit lines. This constituted a 54.9% decrease compared to 2022.
Private finance mobilised by Sweden in 2022-23 mainly targeted middle-income countries, representing 16.1% of its total mobilised. Only 2.8% of total mobilised private finance during this period benefited the LDCs and other low-income countries (LICs), noting that 81.1% was unallocated by income.
Mobilised private finance by Sweden in 2022-23 related mainly to activities in energy (47.2%), as its top sector. Furthermore, over this period, 77.3% of Sweden’s total mobilised private finance was for climate action.
Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) is an international statistical standard that monitors and increases transparency of all official and officially supported resources for financing the SDGs in developing countries, as well as for addressing global challenges. In 2023, activities reported by Sweden as TOSSD totalled USD 6.5 billion, up from USD 5.9 billion in 2022. Sweden’s TOSSD activities mostly targeted SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals) and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). Activity-level data on TOSSD by recipient are available at: https://tossd.online.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) oversees Sweden’s development co-operation policy and the related budget. Within the MFA, the Department for International Development co-ordinates this work, although nearly all departments are involved. The MFA is also responsible for managing the government agencies that implement development co-operation. Sida is the largest implementing agency. The other five main ODA implementation agencies are Swedfund, the Swedish Institute, the Folke Bernadotte Academy, the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. Co-ordination between the MFA and Sida is particularly close, and Sweden is working on improving co-ordination with the other implementing agencies. Sida provides country-level staff with a high degree of delegated programme and financial authority to design and adapt programmes to the local context.
The MFA staff consists of 1 277 people; however, only a minor share of them work primarily on development co-operation. Sida has 928 staff, of which 598 are based in Stockholm and 330 in country offices/embassies abroad, of which 166 are local staff. Eighty-five people worked in Swedfund in 2024. Of these, 77 worked at the office in Stockholm, 5 at the office in Nairobi, and 3 at the office in Abidjan.
The main mechanism for consulting stakeholders is the Swedish Leadership for Sustainable Development network, comprising 26 Swedish companies and institutions, which serves as a forum for knowledge exchange and collaboration. Another is the Forum for Public Agencies, a yearly national forum hosted by Sida for knowledge exchange and collaboration between government agencies working on development co-operation. The government and Swedish civil society’s joint commitments to strengthen dialogue and collaboration in the area of development co-operation provide the foundation for the Swedish government’s approach to consulting with Swedish civil society in the policy process. CSOs active in development co‑operation, humanitarian assistance and global citizenship education co-ordinate under the umbrella body ForumCiv (formerly Forum Syd).
Internal systems and processes help ensure the effective delivery of Sweden’s development co-operation. Select features are shown in the table below.
Access the full list of providers at this link: Development Co-operation Profiles.
2023 OECD-DAC mid-term review of Sweden: https://one.oecd.org/document/DCD/DAC/AR(2024)3/18/en/pdf
2019 OECD-DAC Peer Review of Sweden: https://doi.org/10.1787/9f83244b-en
Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA): https://www.government.se/government-of-sweden/ministry-for-foreign-affairs
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida): https://www.sida.se/English
Swedfund: https://www.swedfund.se/en
Swedish Institute: https://si.se/en
Folke Bernadotte Academy: https://fba.se/en
Swedish Research Council: https://www.vr.se/english.html
Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency: https://www.msb.se/en
CSO umbrella organisation ForumCiv: https://www.forumciv.org/int
Sweden’s practices on the Development Co-operation TIPs: Tools Insights Practices learning platform: https://www.oecd.org/development-cooperation-learning?tag-key+partner=sweden#search
Sweden has been a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) since 1965.
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.
Note by the Republic of Türkiye
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Note by all the European Union Member States of the OECD and the European Union
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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. 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. For more information on this indicator, please see here.
← 3. The use of the recommended minimum criteria for the marker by some members in recent years can result in lower levels of ODA reported as being focused on gender equality.
← 4. In 2023, the DAC agreed on revised reporting methods for measuring PSI in ODA based on ODA grant equivalents. Members may, however, take up to two years to transition to the new methods, with their PSI continuing to be accounted for on a net ODA basis during the transition period.