Slovenia’s contribution to official development assistance nearly EUR 152 million in 2025

Compared to 2024, Slovenia reduced its multilateral aid by 10 per cent, primarily due to a decrease in its share of the EU ODA budget, while increasing its bilateral aid by 17 per cent, primarily through higher funding for projects in partner countries and tuition fee waivers.

“Although we have been unable to increase the share of ODA in GDP, Slovenia has established itself as a reliable donor, providing consistent levels of funding. We acted in solidarity, but also in a focused and strategic manner. In a world where conflicts, climate crises and development challenges are increasing at a faster rate than the available resources to address them, it is crucial that development cooperation and humanitarian aid remain reliable, predictable and flexible enough to respond quickly to local needs. Slovenia cannot compete in terms of the scale of its resources, but it can create added value through efficiency, clearly defined priorities, niche areas and strategic partnerships, including with the Slovenian business sector,” said Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon.

In 2025, Slovenia allocated the EUR 60.07 million earmarked for bilateral development cooperation primarily to its geographic priorities: the Western Balkans, the European Neighbourhood and sub-Saharan Africa. The Western Balkans received more than 43 per cent of the budget, equivalent to EUR 25.88 million. The three largest recipients were North Macedonia (EUR 7.31 million), Serbia (EUR 5.98 million) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUR 5.79 million). Slovenia increased its bilateral aid to the European Neighbourhood, disbursing 24 per cent (EUR 14.45 million) to countries in the region, primarily Ukraine and Palestine. Sub-Saharan Africa received EUR 3.49 million, which is slightly less than in 2024.

Preliminary data for 2025 released yesterday, 9 April 2026, by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that official development assistance (ODA) at the global level amounted to USD 174.3 billion, or 0.26 per cent of the total gross national income (GNI) of DAC members. Compared to 2024, ODA decreased by 23.1 per cent. It is the largest annual contraction on record and a second consecutive year of decline, bringing ODA to where it stood at the start of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Fiscal pressures on developing countries are mounting, and the current conflict in the Middle East poses a significant threat to global economic growth and food security,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann upon releasing the preliminary data. He emphasised: “In this challenging environment, the sharp decline in ODA highlights the importance of making the most of the resources available and using them more effectively to unlock new sources of investment.”

France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are responsible for 95.7 per cent of the decline in ODA from DAC members. The United States alone accounts for 75.1 per cent of this total. In 2025, the United States reduced its ODA by 56.9 per cent, which marks the largest decline ever recorded for a DAC member. Germany reduced its ODA by 17.4 per cent, France by 10.9 per cent, the United Kingdom by 10.8 per cent and Japan by 5.6 per cent. Despite this, Germany became the largest donor country in 2025, primarily because the United States significantly reduced its ODA.

While grants fell by 29.1 per cent and government loans by 10.3 per cent, ODA from the private sector increased by 13.1 per cent. Together, however, they accounted for only 2.6 per cent of ODA. Humanitarian aid decreased by 35.8 per cent, in-donor refugee costs by 22.1 per cent and multilateral aid, primarily to UN-affiliated organisations, by 12.7 per cent.

“As one of the smallest OECD DAC countries, Slovenia is well aware of the fiscal pressures behind the decline in ODA in 2025. This is another reason why we must further enhance our effectiveness by allocating available resources in a more targeted and focused manner. We must also cooperate more closely within Team Europe and the existing multilateral system while remaining on track to fulfil our commitments,” said Dr Melita Garbič, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. “'It is crucial that Slovenia continues to be a reliable and predictable development partner and remains committed to providing humanitarian aid in solidarity, even when resources are limited,” she added.

All data is preliminary. Final data from both the OECD and Slovenia will be available by the end of 2026.

Further information on the data presented at the OECD DAC press conference on 9 April 2026 (in English).

Detailed Summary Note (in English). 

OECD press release (in English).

Frequently asked questions on official development assistance (ODA) (in English).