Portugal's Development Aid Plunges 21% as OECD Records Largest Global Decline in History

Portugal's official development assistance (ODA) fell 21.3 per cent in 2025 to USD 570 million (approximately EUR 487 million), according to preliminary data released by the OECD on Wednesday. The decline — one of the steepest among developed nations — pushed Portugal's aid spending down to just 0.18 per cent of gross national income, far below the 0.7 per cent target that Lisbon has repeatedly committed to at the United Nations.

Part of the largest global aid decline on record

Portugal's drop mirrors a broader international trend. Total global ODA fell 23.1 per cent in real terms in 2025 — the largest annual decline in the OECD's recorded history — returning aid flows to 2015 levels, the year the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted. Combined donor country aid dropped to USD 174.3 billion, or 0.26 per cent of collective GNI, down from USD 214.6 billion the previous year.

For the first time ever, all five of the world's largest donor nations reduced their ODA simultaneously. The United States cut its aid by 56.9 per cent to USD 29.0 billion, ceding its position as the world's top donor to Germany, which gave USD 29.1 billion. Japan, France, and the United Kingdom also reduced their contributions.

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann warned that "the significant decline in official development assistance underlines the need to maximise the impact of available resources," adding that a further 5.8 per cent global decline is expected in 2026.

Portugal's aid profile

Portugal's ODA has historically been concentrated on Portuguese-speaking countries — particularly Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Guinea-Bissau — reflecting post-colonial ties and the work of the Camões Institute, the country's development cooperation agency. Technical cooperation, scholarships for students from lusophone nations, and debt relief have been the main instruments.

At EUR 487 million, Portugal's 2025 aid spending was down from EUR 619 million in 2024 — a drop of EUR 132 million in a single year. The 0.18 per cent of GNI ratio places Portugal well below the EU average and far from the commitment made under successive governments to move toward the 0.7 per cent target. Only a handful of countries — Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany — currently meet or exceed that benchmark.

Development NGOs call for reversal

The Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs (Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD), an umbrella body representing dozens of non-governmental organisations working in international development, called for an "urgent reversal" of the downward trend. The platform argued that Portugal's credibility in multilateral forums — and its influence in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) — depends on matching diplomatic rhetoric with financial commitment.

The figures arrive at a delicate moment. The government has cited fiscal discipline and the Middle East crisis as reasons for constrained spending, but critics note that Portugal posted a budget surplus last year — a fiscal position that, in their view, should have allowed for at least stable aid levels.

With a further decline forecast for 2026, Portuguese development organisations warn that the country risks falling to the bottom tier of European donors just as global crises — from the Horn of Africa food emergency to displacement from the Middle East conflict — are intensifying demand for humanitarian assistance.