Development Co‑operation Profiles: Spain

Spain approved a new Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity in 2023, which aligns its priorities with the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The law gives legal status to Spain’s commitment to allocate 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to official development assistance (ODA) by 2030. Spain decentralised development co-operation represents 10.2% of Spanish ODA. Spain’s total ODA (USD 5.1 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2025, representing 0.27% of GNI.

This profile presents verified data on Spain’s development assistance allocations. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.

Spain’s Foreign Action Strategy 2025-2028 reaffirms development co-operation as a key tool for reducing poverty, strengthening human development and addressing global challenges. The framework is set out in the 2023 Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, the 2024-2027 Master Plan and the Feminist Co-operation Strategy. Spain’s development co-operation aims to promote a triple social, economic and ecological transition. Priorities include action on hunger and climate change, health, education, water and sanitation, and the rights of women and girls. It adopts a human rights, gender equality and feminist approach, with cultural diversity, environmental sustainability and peace as cross‑cutting principles.

Spain strongly promotes multilateralism to address global challenges, and as a member state of the European Union (EU) it actively contributes to the European Union’s priorities and joint strategies and programming. Multilateral development organisations and banks are key partners for Spain, including in co-financing arrangements. At the international level, Spain is steadfast in its commitment to peace, for example in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Ukraine.

The 2025 mid-term review commends Spain for defending multilateralism and implementing important reforms of its development co-operation and enacting Law 1/2023, which commits Spain to provide ODA equal to 0.7% of GNI by 2030. The Master Plan 2024-2027 sets out different trajectories to reach the target that will require increased ODA budgets. The new Spanish Sustainable Development Fund (FEDES) is expected to expand the range of financial co-operation instruments. The mid-term review noted that Spain could go further in identifying and addressing the transboundary effects of its domestic policies. Spain has made at least some progress on all ten recommendations in its 2022 Peer Review.

Discover insights from Spain’s 2025 mid-term review, 2022 Peer Review and management response. Learn from Spain’s practices in Development Co-operation Tools Insights Practices.

Spain provided USD 5.1 billion (preliminary data) of ODA in 2025 (USD 4.8 billion in constant terms), representing 0.27% of GNI.1 This was an increase of 10.7% in real terms in volume in USD and an increase in the share of GNI from 2024. This increase was notably due to an increase in bilateral ODA, particularly in‑donor refugee costs and humanitarian aid. Spain's ODA has grown since 2023, and its 2023 Law commits to reaching 0.7% of GNI by 2030, in line with EU commitments - though current trends make this target unlikely to be met. Within Spain’s ODA portfolio in 2024, 99.6% was provided in the form of grants, 0.4% was extended as loans and 0% in equity.

In 2025, Spain ranked 12th among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members in terms of ODA volume and 19th when ODA is taken as a share of GNI. In 2024 Spain was the DAC member that provides the largest share of gross bilateral ODA (23%) to Latin America and the Caribbean and the largest share of gross bilateral ODA to and through civil society organisations (CSOs) (56%).

Spain is committed to several international targets and DAC standards and recommendations. Learn more about DAC Recommendations.

Spain provided most of its ODA multilaterally in 2024. Gross bilateral ODA was 40.5% of total ODA disbursements. Of this, 25.5% was channelled through multilateral organisations (earmarked contributions).

In 2024, Spain provided USD 3 billion of gross ODA to the multilateral system, an increase of 9.8% in real terms from 2023.

Of this, USD 2.6 billion was core multilateral ODA (59.5% of total ODA), while USD 450.1 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 1.4% of Spain’s non-core contributions, and 98.6% was programmatic funding (to pooled funds and specific-purpose programmes and funds).

The United Nations (UN) system received 11.9% of Spain’s contributions to multilateral organisations, of which USD 193 million (53.2%) represented earmarked contributions. Out of a total volume of USD 362.6 million to the UN system, the top three UN recipients of Spain’s support (core and earmarked contributions) were the UN Secretariat (USD 35.2 million), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (USD 26.9 million) and the World Health Organisation (USD 26.6 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, Spain’s bilateral spending increased compared to the previous year. It provided USD 1.8 billion of gross bilateral ODA (which includes earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations). This represented an increase of 9.9% in real terms from 2023.

In 2024, country programmable aid amounted to USD 655.9 million, or 37.2% of Spain’s gross bilateral ODA, compared to the DAC country average of 46.5%.

Spain’s in-donor refugee costs amounted to USD 447 million (25.4% of gross bilateral ODA) in 2024, while humanitarian aid was USD 209.8 million, or 10.9% of gross bilateral ODA.

Spain disbursed USD 3.4 million for triangular co-operation in 2024 and has a strategy guiding its approach. Its regional priority is Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on government and civil society.

Learn more about triangular co-operation.

In 2024, Spain channelled its bilateral ODA mainly through NGOs and multilateral organisations. Technical co-operation made up 2% of gross ODA in 2024.

In 2024, CSOs received USD 958.9 million of gross bilateral ODA, of which 4.4% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, 0.7% of gross bilateral ODA was allocated to CSOs as core contributions and 53.7% 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 increased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 53.5% to 54.4%.

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, Spain’s bilateral ODA primarily focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, which is in line with its policy priorities. USD 395.7 million was allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean and USD 250.1 million to countries in Africa, accounting respectively for 22.5% and 14.2% of gross bilateral ODA. USD 95.9 million was allocated to Middle East. Countries in Europe were the main recipients of Spain’s earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations.

In 2024, 23.3% of gross bilateral ODA went to Spain’s top 10 recipients. The share of gross bilateral ODA not allocated by country was 57.4%, of which 44.2% consisted of expenditures for processing and hosting refugees in provider countries.

In 2024, Spain allocated 0.03% of its GNI to the least developed countries (LDCs). Spain allocated the highest share of gross bilateral ODA (19.1%) to upper middle-income countries in 2024, noting that 57.4% was unallocated by income group. LDCs received 9.8% of Spain’s gross bilateral ODA (USD 173.4 million). Additionally, Spain allocated 7.2% of gross bilateral ODA to land-locked developing countries in 2024, equal to USD 126.9 million. Spain allocated 2.1% of gross bilateral ODA to small island developing states in 2024, equal to USD 37.6 million.

The distribution of Spain’s ODA in net terms in relation to “ODA per person in extreme poverty”2 was USD 0.6 in LDCs, USD 2.8 in lower middle-income countries (LMICs) and USD 4.6 in upper middle-income countries.

In 2025, Spain provided USD 87.4 million of net bilateral ODA to Ukraine to respond to the impacts of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a 356.5% increase from 2024 in real terms.

Support to contexts with high and extreme fragility was USD 314.2 million in 2024, representing 17.8% of Spain’s gross bilateral ODA. Of this ODA, 32.9% was provided in the form of humanitarian assistance, a decrease from 43% in 2023, while 21% was allocated to peace, an increase from 17.2% in 2023. Conflict prevention, a subset of contributions to peace, represented 4% of gross bilateral ODA, increasing from 1.1% in 2023.

Learn more about the States of Fragility platform.

In 2024, the largest focus of Spain’s bilateral ODA was other macro sectors, in particular support for refugees in donor countries. Investments in this area accounted for 41.2% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 794.9 million), and support to refugees in donor countries accounting for over half of that amount (USD 447.3 million), followed by administrative costs of donors (USD 166.7 million) and unallocated / unspecified (USD 77.9 million). ODA for social infrastructure and services totalled USD 564.1 million, with a focus on government and civil society (USD 251.7 million). Humanitarian assistance amounted to USD 209.8 million (10.9% of bilateral ODA). Earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations also focused on other macro sectors and social sectors in 2024.

In the period 2023-2024, Spain committed 52.8% of screened bilateral allocable ODA to gender equality and women’s empowerment compared to 42.9% in 2021-2022 and a DAC average of 48.2% in 2023-2024. This is equal to USD 616.8 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 20.7% in 2023-2024, compared with the DAC average of 4.2%.

• Spain includes gender equality objectives in 59.2% of ODA for humanitarian aid, above the 2023‑2024 DAC average of 21.5%.

• Spain screens virtually all bilateral allocable ODA against the DAC gender equality policy marker (97.3% in 2023-2024).

• Spain committed USD 46 million of ODA to end violence against women and girls, and USD 50 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, Spain committed 34.1% of its total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 409 million) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions, up from 25.5% in 2021-2022. The DAC average was 39%. In addition:

• 14.2% of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, compared with the DAC average of 11.2%.

• 17.5% of total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 210.1 million) focused on climate change overall (the DAC average was 35.4%), up from 14.8% in 2021-2022. Spain had a greater focus on mitigation (15.8%) than on adaptation (12.1%) in 2023-2024.

• 20.1% of screened bilateral allocable ODA (USD 235.1 million) focused on biodiversity overall (the DAC average was 8.6%), up from 8.4% in 2021-2022.

• 13.9% of screened bilateral allocable ODA (USD 162 million) focused on desertification overall (the DAC average was 4.2%), down from 11.8% 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 Spain committed USD 8.2 million in support of the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in 2024, USD 3.3 million more than in 2023. The 2024 value is equivalent to 0.7% of Spain’s bilateral allocable ODA.

In 2024, Spain:

• Allocated 6.1% of its bilateral ODA (USD 106.9 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, 0.4% of Spain’s bilateral ODA (USD 6.7 million) went to social protection support. Learn more by exploring the Reducing poverty and inequalities through ODA data explainer.

• Committed USD 232.9 million (18.5% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to address the immediate or underlying determinants of malnutrition in developing countries across a variety of sectors, such as emergency response, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and government and civil society.

• Committed USD 151.6 million (12% of its bilateral allocable ODA) to development co-operation projects and programmes that promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities.

• Committed USD 0.9 million (0.1% 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, Spain does not have a general policy and it makes information available on the OECD Digital Transparency Hub on the Tax Treatment of ODA.

• Committed USD 169.4 million (13.5% 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.

In 2024, total official and private flows from Spain to developing countries amounted to USD 16.6 billion in net terms. Official sources accounted for USD 4.2 billion while USD 12.4 billion originated from private sources.

To help build markets in developing countries and incentivise greater mobilisation of private resources for development, many providers, including Spain, have established development finance institutions and similar vehicles that extend private sector instruments (PSI). FEDES was assessed as an ODA-eligible PSI vehicle. PSI represented 0.3% of Spain’s ODA in 2024 while the DAC average stood at 1.9%.

In 2024, FEDES and COFIDE extended USD 65.8 million in the form of PSI to developing countries.3 Of this, loans accounted for 71% whereas equities accounted for 26.9%. Other private sector instruments included mezzanine finance instruments.

In 2024, USD 0.1 million (0.1%) of Spain’s private sector instruments were allocated to the LDCs and other low-income countries (LICs). By contrast, 69.6% was received by middle-income countries, notably lower middle-income countries (52.1%). USD 19.9 million was unallocated by income. Spain’s PSI primarily supported projects in the banking and financial services (32%) and water supply and sanitation (28.9%) sectors.

Spain uses leveraging mechanisms to mobilise private finance for sustainable development. In 2024, Spain’s Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo, Public Universities and Spanish municipalities mobilised USD 48.9 million from the private sector through syndicated loans, simple co-financing and direct investment in companies and special purpose vehicles. This constituted a 53.3% decrease compared to 2023.

Private finance mobilised by Spain in 2023-2024 mainly targeted middle-income countries, representing 86.1% of its total mobilised. Only 7.3% of total mobilised private finance during this period benefited the LDCs and other low-income countries (LICs), noting that 6.6% was unallocated by income.

Mobilised private finance by Spain in 2023-2024 related mainly to activities in banking and financial services (35.6%), as its top sector. Furthermore, over this period, 33.9% of Spain’s total mobilised private finance was for climate action.

Learn more by exploring the Mobilisation of private finance for development dashboard.

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 Spain as TOSSD totalled USD 4.7 billion, marking an 11% increase compared with the previous year.4 Spain’s TOSSD activities mostly targeted SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 1 (no poverty) and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).

Activity-level data on TOSSD by recipient are available at: https://tossd.online.

Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, the Secretariat of State for International Cooperation (SECI) sets the strategic orientation of Spain’s development policy. SECI, supported by the General Directorate for Sustainable Development Policies, steers development policy for the ministry and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). AECID is responsible for implementing most of Spain’s co-operation, including bilateral programmes, and funding for CSOs, managing FEDES, humanitarian action, and co-ordinating other actors at the operational level from headquarters and in the field.

Other institutions linked to Spanish co-operation – the Foundation for the Internationalisation of Public Administrations (FIAP), formerly known as the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies, and Fundación Carolina – are key actors in implementing Spain’s agenda for knowledge transfer and technical and academic co-operation.

The Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business is responsible for debt relief operations, oversees Spain’s contribution to regional and multilateral development banks and international financial institutions, and participates in the FEDES’ management board. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration manages in-donor refugee costs. Other ministries are also engaged through technical co‑operation or contributions to multilateral organisations.

Spanish co-operation is characterised by a high level of decentralisation. Spain’s autonomous communities (regions) and local entities have sizeable development co-operation activities, 6 of which operate with their own budgets under the strategic co-ordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

Around 1 197 staff work on development co-operation in the Spanish central administration. Of these, 674 work in headquarters, distributed among the State Secretariat for International Cooperation (34), AECID (391), Fundación Carolina (27) and FIAP (222). Spanish Cooperation offices in partner countries employ 523 people (474 from AECID and 49 from FIIAP).

An important mechanism for consulting stakeholders is the Sustainable Development Cooperation High Council. The Interministerial Commission on Sustainable Development Cooperation co-ordinates the different ministerial departments’ actions and a Sectoral Conference on Sustainable Development Cooperation and Global Solidarity summons all the regional governments. CSOs active in development co-operation, humanitarian assistance and global citizenship education co-ordinate under the umbrella body, La Coordinadora.

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).

Internal systems and processes help ensure the delivery of Spain’s development co-operation. The table below highlights select features.

Access the full list of development co-operation providers at: Development Co-operation Profiles.

2025 OECD-DAC mid-term review of Spain: https://one.oecd.org/document/DCD/DAC/AR%282024%293/6/en/pdf.

2022 OECD-DAC Peer Review of Spain: https://doi.org/10.1787/eed71550-en.

CSO umbrella organisation La Coordinadora: https://coordinadoraongd.org (in Spanish).

High Council for Sustainable Development Cooperation: https://www.consejocooperacion.es.

FIAP: https://www.fiap.gob.es.

Fundación Carolina: https://www.fundacioncarolina.es.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation: https://www.exteriores.gob.es/en/Paginas/index.aspx.

Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID): www.aecid.es/EN.

Spanish platform for development co-operation: https://www.cooperacionespanola.es.

Spain has been of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) since 1991.

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.