Italy
Italy’s development co-operation promotes sustainable agriculture, access to clean water, sustainable energy, education, work dignity and gender equality. It works to combat all forms of violence and to guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health. Italy had the highest share of bilateral allocable official development assistance (ODA) for biodiversity and combating desertification among all Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries. Italy’s total ODA (USD 6.5 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022 due to in-donor refugee costs, and represented 0.32% of gross national income (GNI).
Find the methodological notes behind the profile here.
Law 125/2014 sets out the primary objectives of Italian development co-operation: poverty eradication, reducing inequalities and sustainable development; human rights, including gender equality, democracy and the rule of law; and conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The law also sets out to broaden partnerships, operationalise Italian development policy, and create more accountability and transparency. The 2021-23 Three-Year Programming and Policy Planning Document establishes key priorities, including a focus on 20 priority countries, 10 of which are least developed countries (LDCs). Its geographical focus is primarily on the African continent and the Middle East, but also on Cuba and El Salvador.
Multilateral co-operation continues to account for more than half of Italy’s development co-operation. Italy aims to strengthen its role as a major player in addressing global challenges and promoting human, economic, social and environmental development through its multilateral engagement. Italy has prioritised strengthening health systems and supporting the research, production and fair distribution of drugs, treatments and vaccines so that they are accessible to all. Italy demonstrates leadership in preserving cultural heritage and fighting tax crime. In 2022, Italy adopted a National Action Plan on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development that also considers spillover effects on developing countries.
Findings from OECD-DAC reviews
The 2022 OECD-DAC mid-term review commended Italy for its increase in ODA as per its road map to increase levels each year for the next five years, ensuring that humanitarian and development support to Ukraine and Italy’s commitment to triple climate finance remain additional. The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) continues to manage partnerships and projects from the Directorate General for Development Cooperation with civil society, administrations, regions and municipalities, plus European Union (EU) delegated co-operation and is piloting a path to managing for results; however, it faces challenges related to its more fragmented approach, lack of robust policies and guidelines, and limited human resources. Learn more about Italy’s 2022 mid-term review and 2019 peer review.
Italy provided USD 6.5 billion (preliminary data) of ODA in 2022 (USD 7 billion in constant terms), representing 0.32% of GNI.1 This was an increase of 15.8% in real terms in volume and an increase in share of GNI from 0.29% in 2021. Italy’s ODA rebounded in 2021 after a three-year decline. Excluding in-donor refugee costs, its ODA fell in 2022. Italy is not in line with its domestic, international, and EU commitments to collectively achieve a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio by 2030. Within Italy’s ODA portfolio in 2021, 94.7% was provided in the form of grants and 5.3% in the form of non-grants.2
In 2022, Italy ranked 19th among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries when ODA is taken as a share of GNI. Italy stands out for the high share of its bilateral ODA commitments in support of biodiversity and to combat desertification (18.6% and 43.7%, respectively), including a high share allocated to the environment as a principal objective. Italy continued to increase its volume of multilateral ODA (core contributions were USD 3.7 billion in 2021), even if it did not correspond to an increase in the share of Italy’s multilateral ODA. At USD 1.5 billion in 2022, in-donor costs for refugees constituted a significant share (22.9%) of Italy’s net grant equivalent ODA.
Italy is committed to several international targets, Development Assistance Committee standards and recommendations. Learn more about DAC recommendations.
Italy provided a higher share of its ODA multilaterally in 2021. Gross bilateral ODA was 41% of total ODA. Twenty-nine per cent of gross bilateral ODA was channelled through multilateral organisations (earmarked contributions). Italy allocated 59% of total ODA as core contributions to multilateral organisations.
In 2022, Italy provided USD 359.2 million of gross bilateral ODA to Ukraine to respond to the impacts of Russia’s war of aggression, of which USD 24.3 million was humanitarian assistance (preliminary data). In 2021, it provided USD 1.6 million.
In 2022, Italy provided USD 290.2 million in ODA for the COVID-19 response. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, donations of excess doses to developing countries accounted for USD 169.1 million of ODA. In 2020 and 2021, Italy’s total bilateral support for COVID-19 response was USD 66.0 million and USD 397.6 million, respectively.
In 2021, Italy provided USD 4.65 billion of gross ODA to the multilateral system, an increase of 25% in real terms from 2020. Of this, USD 3.9 billion was core multilateral ODA, while non-core contributions were earmarked for a specific country, region, theme or purpose. Project-type funding earmarked for a specific theme and/or country accounted for 71.3% of Italy’s non-core contributions and 28.7% was programmatic funding (to pooled funds and specific-purpose programmes and funds).
Sixty-seven per cent of Italy’s total contributions to multilateral organisations in 2021 was allocated to EU Institutions, other UN, and the World Bank (in descending order).
The UN system received 12.3% of Italy’s multilateral contributions, mainly in the form of core contributions. Out of a total volume of USD 571.6 million to the UN system, the top three UN recipients of Italy’s support (core and earmarked contributions) were UNHCR (USD 75.4 million), the UN secretariat (USD 61.2 million) and IFAD (USD 61 million).
See the section on Geographic and sectoral focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system. Learn more about multilateral development finance.
In 2021, Italy’s bilateral spending increased compared to the previous year. It provided USD 2.7 billion of gross bilateral ODA (which includes earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations). This represented an increase of 83.7% in real terms from 2020. In 2021, Italy focused most of its bilateral ODA on reduced inequality, no poverty, and health and well-being goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
In 2021, country programmable aid was 27.4% of Italy’s gross bilateral ODA, compared to a DAC country average of 45.2%. In-donor refugee costs were USD 556.1 million in 2021, an increase of 132.8% in real terms over 2020, and represented 20.7% of Italy’s gross bilateral ODA.
In 2021, Italy channelled bilateral ODA mainly through the public sector and multilateral organisations as earmarked funding. Technical co-operation made up 2.2% of gross ODA in 2021.
Civil society organisations
In 2021, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 237.7 million of gross bilateral ODA. Five per cent of gross bilateral ODA was allocated to CSOs as core contributions, and 3.6% was channelled through CSOs to implement projects initiated by the donor (earmarked funding). From 2020 to 2021, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs decreased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 14.7% to 8.8%. Learn more about ODA allocations to and through CSOs, civil society engagement in development co-operation, and the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
In 2021, Italy’s bilateral ODA was primarily focused on Africa. USD 1.2 billion was allocated to Africa and USD 178.6 million to Latin America and the Caribbean, accounting respectively for 44.3% and 6.6% of gross bilateral ODA. USD 168.1 million (6.3%) was allocated to the Middle East. Africa was also the main regional recipient of Italy’s earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations.
In 2021, 39.9% of gross bilateral ODA went to Italy’s top 10 recipients. Its top 10 recipients are priority partners, except for Türkiye. The share of gross bilateral ODA that was not allocated by country was 44.8%, with 46.1% of this unallocated bilateral ODA spent on refugees in the donor country.
In 2021, the least developed countries received 38.6% of Italy’s gross bilateral ODA (USD 1.0 billion). This is greater than the DAC average of 22.9%. Italy allocated the highest share of gross bilateral ODA (34.4%) to least developed countries in 2021, noting that 44.8% was unallocated by income group. Italy allocated 9.3% of gross bilateral ODA to land-locked developing countries in 2021, equal to USD 250.1 million. Italy allocated 0.8% of gross bilateral ODA to small island developing states (SIDS) in 2021, equal to USD 21.5 million.
Fragile contexts
Support to fragile contexts reached USD 1.1 billion in 2021, representing 42.3% of Italy’s gross bilateral ODA. Thirteen per cent of this ODA was provided in the form of humanitarian assistance, decreasing from 18.3% in 2020, while 6% was allocated to peace, decreasing from 9.6% in 2020. One per cent went to conflict prevention, a subset of contributions to peace, representing a decrease from 1.9% in 2020.
Learn more about support to fragile contexts on the States of Fragility platform.
Sectors
In 2021, under one third of Italy’s bilateral ODA was allocated to social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 28.5% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 681.1 million), with a strong focus on support to health (USD 329.7 million), education (USD 166.1 million) and government and civil society (USD 110.4 million). ODA for debt assistance totalled 22% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 526.5 million). ODA for economic infrastructure and services totalled 4.4% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 105.2 million), focusing on energy (USD 50.9 million). Bilateral humanitarian assistance amounted to USD 242.8 million (10.2% of bilateral ODA). In 2021, earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations focused on health, emergency response, and government and civil society.
Gender equality
In 2020-21, Italy committed 44.7% of its screened bilateral allocable aid to gender equality and women’s empowerment, as either a principal or significant objective (down from 58.1% in 2018-19, compared with the 2020-21 DAC average of 44.4%). This is equal to USD 427.8 million of bilateral ODA in support of gender equality. The share of screened bilateral allocable aid committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment as a principal objective was 4.6% in 2020-21, compared with the DAC average of 4.5%. Italy includes gender equality objectives in 49.1% of its ODA for humanitarian aid, compared with the 2020-21 DAC average of 17.5%. Italy screens the majority of activities against the DAC gender equality policy marker (78.9% in 2020-21). Learn more about ODA focused on gender equality, the DAC Network on Gender Equality and the DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation in Development Co-operation.
Environment
In 2020-21, Italy committed 45.7% of its total bilateral allocable aid (USD 555.2 million) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions (DAC average of 34.3%), up from 34.1% in 2018-19. Unpacking the environmental data further:
Sixteen per cent of screened bilateral allocable aid focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, compared with the DAC average of 11.3%.
Thirty-six per cent of total bilateral allocable aid (USD 436.4 million) focused on climate change overall (the DAC average was 29%), up from 18.4% in 2018-19. Italy had a greater focus on adaptation (43.1%) than on mitigation (36.6%) in 2020-21.
Nineteen per cent of total bilateral allocable aid (USD 177.7 million) focused on biodiversity (compared with the DAC average of 6.5%), up from 18.1% in 2018-19.
Learn more about climate-related development finance and the DAC Declaration on Aligning Development Co-operation with the Goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The OECD initiative Sustainable Oceans for All shows that Italy committed USD 15.3 million in support of the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in 2021, up from USD 4.2 million in 2020. The 2021 value is equivalent to 1.2% of Italy’s bilateral allocable aid. Learn more about development co-operation in support of a sustainable ocean economy and the data platform on development finance for a sustainable ocean economy.
Committed USD 0.1 million of bilateral ODA to the mobilisation of domestic resources in developing countries, amounting to a small share (less than 0.1%) of its bilateral allocable aid. Regarding the payment of local tax and custom duties for ODA-funded goods and services, Italy seeks exemptions on its ODA-funded goods and services in partner countries and territories. It does not make information available on the OECD Digital Transparency Hub on the Tax Treatment of ODA.
Committed USD 186.9 million (14.9% of its bilateral allocable aid) to promote aid for trade and improve developing countries’ trade performance and integration into the world economy in 2021.
Committed USD 216.8 million (17.3% of its bilateral allocable aid) to address the immediate or underlying determinants of malnutrition in developing countries across a variety of sectors, such as maternal health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) or agriculture.
Committed USD 179.6 million (14.3% of its bilateral allocable aid) to development co-operation projects and programmes that promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), and notably its Directorate General for Development Cooperation, is responsible for development co-operation oversight, decision-making, and co-ordination and political representation internationally in the broader context of Italy’s support for sustainable development. The Ministry of Economy and Finance is responsible, in co-ordination with the MAECI, for relations with multilateral development banks and funds and for debt relief operations. The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Interior play an increasingly important role in allocating ODA to multilateral entities and for in-donor refugee costs, respectively.
The AICS reports to the MAECI and is mandated to perform technical and operational activities related to programme implementation. It operates in partner countries through its 18 country offices. The CDP is Italy’s development finance institution.
The MAECI has 97 staff working on development co-operation in headquarters. AICS has 229 staff working on development co-operation, 37,55 % of which are in country offices. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has 22 staff working on development co-operation, none serving abroad.
An important mechanism for consulting stakeholders is the National Council for Development Cooperation, a body established pursuant to Article 16 of Law 125/2014, which brings together over 54 of the main public and private actors, both profit and non-profit, engaging in development co-operation. CSOs active in development co-operation co-ordinate through the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), the umbrella body.
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation monitoring exercise tracks the implementation of the effectiveness commitments. Following a reform of the exercise during 2020-22, the 4th global monitoring round (2023-26) has resumed. More detailed results for Italy based on the 2016 and 2018 Monitoring Rounds can be found here. Monitoring profiles for other providers are available here.
2022 OECD-DAC mid-term review: https://www.oecd.org/dac/peer-reviews/DAC-mid-term-Italy-2022.pdf
2019 OECD-DAC peer review of Italy: http://www.oecd.org/dac/oecd-development-co-operation-peer-reviews-italy-2019-b1874a7a-en.htm
Agency for International Development Cooperation (AICS): https://www.aics.gov.it
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation: https://www.esteri.it/en/politica-estera-e-cooperazione-allo-sviluppo/
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP): https://www.cdp.it/sitointernet/en/cooperazione_internazionale.page
Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS): https://asvis.it/asvis-italian-alliance-for-sustainable-development
Italy’s practices on the Development Co-operation TIPs: Tools Insights Practices learning platform: https://www.oecd.org/development-cooperation-learning?tag-key+partner=italy#search
Member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) since 1960.
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 2019 data as a more accurate way to count the donor effort in development loans. See the methodological notes for further details.
← 2. Non-grants include sovereign loans, multilateral loans, equity investment and loans to the private sector.