Total Official Development Assistance given or received as a percentage of Gross National Product
Category: Economic
1. Indicator
(a) Name: Total Official Development Assistance (ODA) given or received
as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP).
(b) Brief Definition: This indicator is defined as the total ODA given or
received as a share of GNP of the source or recipient country, respectively.
When ODA flows by donor countries are measured, ODA comprises bilateral
disbursements of concessional funds to developing countries and multilateral
institutions. When ODA receipts by developing countries are measured, ODA
comprises disbursement of concessional finance from both bilateral and
multilateral sources.
(c) Unit of Measurement: %.
2. Placement in the Framework
(a) Agenda 21: Chapter 33: Financial Resources and Mechanisms.
(b) Type of Indicator: State.
3. Significance (Policy Relevance)
(a) Purpose: The indicator is a measure of the size of flows that are
both concessional, and aimed mainly at promoting development and welfare of
developing countries. It conveys information about the borrower~s receipt of
aid from official lenders or official lender~s concessional flows to
developing countries.
(b) Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Development: Financial
resources are obviously needed for the attainment of sustainable development.
Agenda 21 calls for the monitoring of the provision of financial resources,
particularly in developing countries, so that the international community can
take further action on the basis of accurate and reliable data.
(c) Linkages to Other Indicators: This indicator is particularly linked
with the other financial and international cooperation indicators.
(d) Targets: Not available.
(e) International Conventions and Agreements: Not available.
4. Methodological Description and Underlying Definitions
There are several ways of measuring ODA flows. The World Bank takes a
developing-country/debtor perspective and the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) takes a donor/creditor-country perspective.
ODA consists of grants or loans to developing countries that are undertaken
by the official sector with the purpose of promoting economic development and
welfare. Grants are defined as disbursements, in money or in kind, for which
there is no repayment required. ODA loans are provided at concessional
financial terms, that is with a grant element of 25 percent or more. The
degree of concessionality is determined by the terms of a loan - interest
rate, maturity, and grace period. The OECD includes grants for technical
cooperation, but the World Bank excludes them because these grants mostly
represent the provision of services rather than a flow of funds.
5. Assessment of the Availability of Data from International and National
Sources
The principal source of the information are the OECD and the World Bank~s
Debtor Reporting System. The OECD data are obtained from donor and creditor
sources through the information collected by the Development Assistance
Committee. It includes information from the Creditor Reporting System and the
joint OECD/Bank for International Settlements (BIS) system for identifying
officially guaranteed claims of private banks on developing countries.
6. Agencies Involved in the Development of the Indicator
(a) Lead Agency: The lead agency is the World Bank. The contact point is
the Chief, Indicators and Environmental Valuation Unit, Environment
Department, the World Bank; fax no. (1 202) 477 0968.
(b) Other Organizations: The OECD represents a contributing agency to the
development of this indicator.
7. Further Information
Not available.
LEAD AGENCY: WORLD BANK