Development Co‑operation Profiles

Lithuania

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Introduction

As an official provider of development co-operation since 2004 and a Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member since 2022, Lithuania’s co-operation focuses on sharing its transition experience and accumulated knowledge in democratic reforms, notably in countries of the European Union’s (EU) Eastern Partnership. Most official development assistance (ODA) is channelled through the European Union. Lithuania’s total ODA (USD 190.7  million, preliminary data) decreased in 2023, representing 0.28% of gross national income (GNI).

Find the methodological notes behind the profile here.

Policy

The Law on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid provides the overarching framework for Lithuania’s development co-operation. The Strategic Guidelines for Development Cooperation 2022-2025, complemented by regional and country co-operation strategies, set priorities for Lithuania’s co-operation, particularly freedom and democracy as well as education, gender equality, energy and climate. Lithuania focuses on EU Eastern Partnership countries as well as select priority countries in Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Digitalisation is a main priority of its co-operation with African countries.

Most of Lithuania’s ODA is delivered multilaterally, and the European Union is a key partner for channelling Lithuanian ODA. Lithuania is also very active in sharing its public sector expertise through the EU Twinning programme. Its development efforts are concentrated mainly on Eastern Europe, with a strategic emphasis on fostering democracy, promoting good governance, empowering women, advancing digitalisation, improving education and protecting the environment.

ODA allocation overview

Lithuania provided USD 190.7 million (preliminary data) of ODA in 2023 (USD 171.1 million in constant terms), representing 0.28% of GNI.1 This was a decrease of 29.6% in real terms in volume and a decrease in the share of GNI from 2022. Lithuania’s ODA volume has consistently increased since 2017, and the growth rate peaked in 2022, mostly due to an increase in bilateral grants to Ukraine and in-donor refugee costs. Lithuania is making progress towards meeting its European commitment to achieve 0.33% ODA/GNI and collectively achieve a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio by 2030. Lithuania provided all of its ODA as grants in 2022.2

In 2023, Lithuania ranked 19th among DAC member countries in terms of ODA to GNI ratio. In 2022, in line with its policy, Lithuania stands out for allocating a high share of its bilateral ODA to Europe (48.2%). It has a high share of humanitarian assistance, amounting to 35.5% of bilateral ODA commitments and 83.7% of bilateral ODA commitments channelled through multilateral organisations to the humanitarian sector. The increase of in-donor refugee costs in 2022 means that shares of bilateral ODA allocated to other areas may have decreased from 2021 to 2022 even when absolute volumes did not.

 

Notes: Data on official development assistance (ODA) volumes (figure above) are in constant 2022 prices. Data for 2023 are preliminary. See the methodological notes for further details.

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Lithuania is committed to several international targets and Development Assistance Committee standards and recommendations. Learn more about DAC recommendations.

Performance against commitments and DAC recommendations

Description	Target	2021	2022	2023, preliminary
ODA as a share of GNI (%)	0.33	0.14	0.36	0.28
Total ODA to least developed countries as a share of GNI (%)	0.15-0.20	0.02	0.02
Share of untied ODA covered by the DAC Recommendation	100	0	100
Share of untied ODA (All sectors and countries beyond the scope of the Untying Recommendation) (%)		0	88.7
Grant element of total ODA (%)	>86	100	100

Note: ODA: official development assistance; GNI: gross national income; DAC: Development Assistance Committee. This table only includes information about ODA data-related DAC recommendations.

Lithuania provided a higher share of its ODA bilaterally in 2022. Gross bilateral ODA was 57.8% of total ODA disbursements. Ten per cent of gross bilateral ODA was channelled through multilateral organisations (earmarked contributions). Lithuania allocated 42.2% of total ODA as core contributions to multilateral organisations.

 

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ODA for Ukraine

In 2023, Lithuania provided USD 55.9 million (preliminary data) of net bilateral ODA to Ukraine to respond to the impacts of Russia's war of aggression, a 4.2% increase from 2022 in real terms. USD 14.2 million of the amount was allocated to humanitarian assistance, a 70.7% decrease from 2022.

 

Note: The amount reported in 2023 is an estimate, based on preliminary figures reported to the OECD and published in April 2024.

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ODA to and through the multilateral system

In 2022, Lithuania provided USD 116.3 million of gross ODA to the multilateral system, an increase of 61% in real terms from 2021. Of this, USD 102 million was core multilateral ODA, while USD 13.7 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 0.1% of Lithuania's non-core contributions and 99.9% was programmatic funding (to pooled funds and specific-purpose programmes and funds).

 

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Eighty-one per cent of Lithuania's total contributions to multilateral organisations in 2022 were allocated to EU Institutions.

 

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The United Nations (UN) system received 2.2% of Lithuania's multilateral contributions, of which USD 0.8 million (30.2%) represented earmarked contributions. Out of a total volume of USD 2.6 million to the UN system, the top three UN recipients of Lithuania's support (core and earmarked contributions) were UNDPO-UN Peacekeeping operations (USD 0.5 million), the UN inter-agency pooled funds (USD 0.3 million) and FAO (USD 0.3 million).

 

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See the section Geographic, sectoral and thematic focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system. Learn more about multilateral development finance.

Bilateral ODA

In 2022, Lithuania's bilateral spending increased compared to the previous year. It provided USD 140.7 million of gross bilateral ODA (which includes earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations). This represented an increase of 603.6% in real terms from 2021.

In 2022, country programmable aid was 9.3% of Lithuania's gross bilateral ODA, compared to the DAC country average of 42%. In-donor refugee costs were USD 74.1 million in 2022, an increase of 3 638.4% in real terms over 2021, and represented 52.7% of Lithuania's total gross bilateral ODA.

 

Note: NGO: non-governmental organisation.

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In 2022, Lithuania channelled its bilateral ODA mainly through the public sector. Technical co-operation made up 3.7% of gross ODA in 2022.

 

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Civil society organisations

In 2022, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 1.8 million of gross bilateral ODA, of which 39.8% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, USD 63 thousand of gross bilateral ODA was allocated to CSOs as core contributions and 1.2% was channelled through CSOs to implement projects initiated by the donor (earmarked funding). From 2021 to 2022, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs decreased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 11.8% to 1.3%. Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.

 

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Geographic, sectoral and thematic focus of ODA

In 2022, Lithuania's bilateral ODA was primarily focused on ODA-eligible countries in Europe. USD 55.4 million was allocated to ODA-eligible countries in Europe (of which 86.8% for Ukraine) and USD 2.8 million to Asia, accounting respectively for 39.4% and 2% of gross bilateral ODA. USD 1.9 million was allocated to Africa. Europe was also the main regional recipient of Lithuania's earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, which was in line with its policy priorities.

Bilateral ODA by recipient country

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In 2022, 41.6% of gross bilateral ODA went to Lithuania's top 10 recipients. Its top 10 recipients are in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in line with its focus on its immediate neighbourhood and its policy priorities. The share of gross bilateral ODA not allocated by country was 57.4%, of which 91.7% consisted of expenditures for processing and hosting refugees in provider countries.

 

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In 2022, Lithuania allocated 0.02% of its GNI to the least developed countries (LDCs). Lithuania allocated the highest share of gross bilateral ODA (34.7%) to lower middle-income countries in 2022, noting that 57.4% was unallocated by income group. Least developed countries (LDCs) received 1.3% of Lithuania's gross bilateral ODA (USD 1.8 million). Additionally, Lithuania allocated 4.2% of gross bilateral ODA to land-locked developing countries in 2022, equal to USD 6 million.

 

Note: LDC: least developed country; LIC: low-income country; LMIC: lower middle-income country; UMIC: upper middle-income country; MADCTs: more advanced developing countries and territories.

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Fragile contexts

Support to fragile contexts was USD 2.4 million in 2022, representing 1.7% of Lithuania's gross bilateral ODA. Three per cent of this ODA was provided in the form of humanitarian assistance, decreasing from 34.1% in 2021, while 8.9% was allocated to peace, increasing from 6.8% in 2021. Nine per cent went to conflict prevention, a subset of contributions to peace, representing an increase from 0% in 2021. Learn more about support to fragile contexts on the States of Fragility platform.

 

Note: HDP: humanitarian-development-peace. The chart represents only gross bilateral official development assistance that is allocated by country.

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Sectors

In 2022, the largest focus of Lithuania's bilateral ODA was refugees and asylum seekers in donor countries. Investments in this area accounted for 52.7% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 74.1 million). ODA for humanitarian assistance totalled USD 49.6 million (35.5% of bilateral ODA), focusing on emergency response (USD 43.3 million). Social infrastructure and services amounted to USD 12.1 million (8.6% of bilateral ODA). Lithuania committed USD 2.4 million for health and population in 2022, accounting for 1.7% of gross bilateral ODA, and representing a 1 951.4% increase from 2019 in real terms. Earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations focused primarily on humanitarian assistance in 2022.

 

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ODA for COVID-19

In 2022, Lithuania disbursed USD 2.3 million in ODA for the COVID-19 response, down from USD 3.9 million in 2021. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, Lithuania provided USD 1.5 million in ODA for donations of doses to developing countries in 2022, down 60.7% from USD 3.8 million in 2021. All COVID-19 vaccines accounted for donations of doses from domestic supply in 2022.

Gender equality

In the period 2021-22, Lithuania committed 17% of its screened bilateral allocable aid to gender equality and women's empowerment, as either a principal or significant objective (down from 40.7% in 2019-20), compared with the 2021-22 DAC average of 43.3%. This is equal to USD 3 million of bilateral ODA in support of gender equality. Unpacking the gender equality data further:

• The share of screened bilateral allocable aid committed to gender equality and women's empowerment as a principal objective was 1.1% in 2021-22, compared with the DAC average of 3.9%.

• Lithuania includes gender equality objectives in 6.7% of its ODA for humanitarian aid, below the 2021-22 DAC average of 17%.

• Lithuania screens less than half of their bilateral allocable aid activities against the DAC gender equality policy marker (45.2% in 2021-22).

Learn more about Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: DAC Guidance for Development Partners and the DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation in Development Co-operation.

 

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Environment

In 2021-22, Lithuania committed 26.9% of its total bilateral allocable aid (USD 10.8 million) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions (the DAC average was 35.1%), up from 21.8% in 2019-20. Unpacking the environmental data further:

• Seven per cent of screened bilateral allocable aid focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, compared with the DAC average of 11%.

• Five per cent of total bilateral allocable aid (USD 1.8 million) focused on climate change overall, down from 10.1% in 2019-20 (the DAC average was 30.5%). Lithuania had a greater focus on mitigation (6.7%) than on adaptation (6.3%) in 2021-22.

• Almost zero per cent of screened bilateral allocable aid focused on biodiversity overall, down from 0.5% in 2019-20 (the DAC average was 7.2%).

Learn more about the DAC Declaration on Aligning Development Co-operation with the Goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change [DAC/CHAIR(2021)1/FINAL].

 

Note: In this figure, the category climate includes climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation efforts.

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Performance against environment and Rio Markers, 2021-2022

Marker	Constant 2022 USD million	% of bilateral allocable
Environment	10.8	40.1
Rio markers:
Biodiversity	0	0.1
Desertification	0	0
Climate change mitigation only	0.1	0.3
Climate change adaptation only	0	0
Both climate change mitigation and adaptation	1.7	4.2

Note: Individual Rio Markers should not be added up as this can result in double counting.

Other cross-cutting sectors and themes

In 2022, Lithuania also:

• Rarely seeks exemptions for the payment of local tax and customs duties for ODA-funded goods and services. It does not have a general policy and it does not make information available on the OECD Digital Transparency Hub on the Tax Treatment of ODA.

• Committed USD 24.9 million (38.8% of its bilateral allocable aid) to address the immediate or underlying determinants of malnutrition in developing countries across a variety of sectors, such as emergency response, agriculture, forestry, fishing and government & civil society.

• Committed USD 21.9 million (34.1% of its bilateral allocable aid) to development co-operation projects and programmes that promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Effectiveness of development co-operation

The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation monitoring exercise tracks the implementation of the effectiveness commitments. Following the reform of the exercise over 2020-22, the 4th global monitoring round (2023-26) is underway. Information on partner countries' participation in the exercise as well as their progress is available at the Global Dashboard.

Total official support for sustainable development

Total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) is an international statistical standard that monitors all official and officially supported resources for financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries, as well as for addressing global challenges. It provides a broad measure of development finance with the objective of increasing transparency and accountability of all external support that developing countries receive. In 2022, activities reported by Lithuania as TOSSD totalled USD 249.4 million, up from USD 91.5 million in 2021. Lithuania's TOSSD activities mostly targeted SDG 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and SDG 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Activity-level data on TOSSD by recipient are available at https://tossd.online.

Institutional set-up

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs oversees Lithuania’s development co-operation efforts. The National Development Cooperation Commission, chaired by the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, co-ordinates policies across ministries, public institutions and private sector organisations. The Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) serves as the main implementing agency for bilateral projects, and carries out projects on behalf of the European Union. The Ministry of Environment and its Environmental Projects Management Agency also manage climate change projects. The Fund for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, established in 2022, facilitates funding from various sources (public, private, international), and the CPMA serves as the fund’s administrator and secretariat.

Around 50 staff members work on development co-operation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Office of the Government and the CPMA. In addition, around 50 staff members working in diplomatic missions, line ministries and other state institutions work part-time (10-50%) on development co-operation issues.

 

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Lithuania organises an annual conference with experts, representatives of international institutions, civil society, business and other relevant stakeholders to share experiences and discuss proposals on how to achieve more advanced, transparent and innovative policy solutions for development co-operation. CSOs active in development co-operation, humanitarian assistance and global citizenship education co-ordinate under the Lithuanian NGDO Platform.

Quality and oversight

Internal systems and processes help ensure the effective delivery of Lithuania’s development co-operation. Select features are shown in the table below.

Features of Lithuania’s systems for quality and oversight

Quality assurance	The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) have a performance monitoring system that analyses how well an intervention is being implemented against expected project-level results. All project applications need to demonstrate their contribution to gender equality, environmental protection and climate change.
Risk management	A risk assessment is carried out after all new project implementation agreements are signed and then updated quarterly. On anti-corruption, Lithuania provides training to staff, integrates anti-corruption and sanction clauses into all official development assistance contracts, verifies self-declarations by partners, and has created reporting mechanisms.
Innovation and adaptation	Lithuania supports partners with advice and funding inclusive digitalisation.
Results management	Lithuania monitors performance at project level and is strengthening its monitoring and evaluation system and its broader results-based management approach. This includes developing institutional capabilities to target and measure development outcomes, and adopting different approaches for its partnerships with civil society organisations and the private sector.
Evaluation	A formal evaluation system is yet to be developed.
Knowledge management and learning	The CPMA promotes knowledge sharing in the form of training for project participants and uses its website to share lessons. Learning mechanisms are limited due to the lack of an evaluation system.
Communication and transparency	Lithuania publishes policies, statistics and its annual development co-operation reports online to share major activities and results achieved in development co-operation. Conferences are organised every year to present results to the Lithuanian public.

Additional resources

Lithuania Development Cooperation: https://ltaid.urm.lt/en

Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://www.urm.lt/default/en/foreign-policy/lithuania-in-the-region-and-the-world/development-cooperation-and-democracy-promotion

Lithuanian Central Project Management Agency (CPMA): https://www.cpva.lt/en

CSO umbrella organisation “National Non-Governmental Development Cooperation Organisations’ Platform”: https://www.vbplatforma.org/EN

Member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) since 2022.

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 aid, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.

Notes

← 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.  Other providers also provide non-grants, which include sovereign loans, multilateral loans, equity investment and loans to the private sector.