How much aid goes to East and Southeast Asia?
The region has received a total of $44.4 billion in official development assistance from 2019-2023. Who are the biggest donors? Which country and sector received the most aid? Devex crunched the numbers to find out.
East and Southeast Asia receive significant amounts of official development assistance, or ODA. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development classifies the following 11 countries as belonging to this region: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Most countries in the region are surrounded by the ocean. Major river systems such as the Mekong and Red Rivers sprawl across the land. The region is rich in natural and human-made wonders such as the rice terraces in the Philippines, the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the Hạ Long Bay in Vietnam. Despite the cultural richness and beautiful landscapes, the region is plagued by the troubled waters of civil unrest and human rights issues that are not commonly known worldwide. In the Philippines, the country is still recovering from the effects of the “war on drugs” by the previous administration, where extrajudicial killings ran rampant. Conditions have improved to some degree with the new administration, but disappearances and journalist attacks are still widespread. Multiple protests have also broken out against corruption in the government. Cambodia has faced criticism after members of the opposition were arrested, following its 2023 elections. The country is also facing criticism from the Human Rights Council for failing to make progress with the recommendations it has accepted. Vietnam is under scrutiny for suppressing its citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, association, movement, and peaceful assembly. It has even rejected the recommendations made during the United Nations universal periodic review to reform its laws. In light of these issues, are the countries getting the support they need? In order to find out, we used the creditor reporting system from the OECD. We also utilized the country development finance data from the International Aid Transparency Initiative, or IATI. The figures presented are in 2023 constant prices unless stated otherwise. The OECD and IATI use the term “Far East Asia” to group the region. For this article, we will be referring to the region as “East and Southeast Asia.” Unlike other Devex analyses, ODA data is not provided in grant-equivalent format, the OECD’s normal preferred measure, because region-specific data is not available in that format. This is a particular issue for this dataset, because Japan — one of the largest funders to the region — provides significant amounts of loan funding. Given the uncertain nature of future contributions from the United States, we will also present figures that do not include its contribution. From 2019 to 2023, the East and Southeast Asia region received a total of $44.4 billion in aid. In 2023 alone, the region received $9.2 billion. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1763986509524' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Fa/FarEastAsiaODA-YearonYear/Dashboard1/1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a></noscript><object class='tableauViz' style='display:none;'><param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F' /> <param name='embed_code_version' value='3' /> <param name='site_root' value='' /><param name='name' value='FarEastAsiaODA-YearonYear/Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Fa/FarEastAsiaODA-YearonYear/Dashboard1/1.png' /> <param name='animate_transition' value='yes' /><param name='display_static_image' value='yes' /><param name='display_spinner' value='yes' /><param name='display_overlay' value='yes' /><param name='display_count' value='yes' /><param name='language' value='en-US' /><param name='filter' value='publish=yes' /></object></div><param name='device' value='desktop' /><param name='showShareOptions' value='false' /> <script type='text/javascript'> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1763986509524'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='727px';} var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); </script> <i style=font-style: georgia;”>Year-on-year comparison of ODA received by East and Southeast Asia from 2019–2023.</i> Who gave the most? As with other Asian regions, Japan is the largest provider of aid. It contributed a total of $3.7 billion to the region in 2023, accounting for 40.7% of the total. However, because of the nature of the dataset, it is unclear how much of this total was provided in the form of loans or grants. The Philippines is the largest recipient of Japanese aid, receiving $1.4 billion. Next is Indonesia, receiving $982.8 million. Vietnam follows with $736.7 million. Cambodia received $364.2 million, and then Thailand received $124.3 million. Germany is the next top donor. It gave $1.5 billion in aid, accounting for 16.5% of the overall funding in the region. China was its biggest recipient with almost $658 million. Indonesia follows with $531.3 million, Vietnam with $143.7 million, and then Cambodia with $36.8 million. Germany also funded projects that affect multiple countries in the region, which amounted to $30.1 million. The OECD classifies such projects as “Far East Asia, unspecified.” The next biggest donor in the United States. It gave $1.2 billion in aid, accounting for 12.7% of the total. The Philippines is its largest recipient of aid, with $218.1 million. Vietnam follows with $213.5 million. Indonesia received $181.4 million, Cambodia received $120.7 million, and Laos received $113.7 million. Where did the money go? Overall, Indonesia received the most funding. It received $2.6 billion in total aid, which is around 28% of the total. The Philippines comes next with $2.1 billion — around 22.7%. Vietnam follows with $1.5 billion, then Cambodia with $808.6 million, and China with $716.2 million. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1763987077812' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Fa/FarEastAsiaODA-Recipients/Dashboard1/1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a></noscript><object class='tableauViz' style='display:none;'><param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F' /> <param name='embed_code_version' value='3' /> <param name='site_root' value='' /><param name='name' value='FarEastAsiaODA-Recipients/Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Fa/FarEastAsiaODA-Recipients/Dashboard1/1.png' /> <param name='animate_transition' value='yes' /><param name='display_static_image' value='yes' /><param name='display_spinner' value='yes' /><param name='display_overlay' value='yes' /><param name='display_count' value='yes' /><param name='language' value='en-US' /><param name='filter' value='publish=yes' /></object></div><param name='device' value='desktop' /><param name='showShareOptions' value='false' /> <script type='text/javascript'> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1763987077812'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='727px';} var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); </script> <i style=font-style: georgia;”>The top ODA recipients in East and Southeast Asia in 2023.</i> In terms of sectors, the transport and storage sector received the most funding with $4.2 billion — or 22.6%. Japan is the biggest contributor to this sector, giving $1.8 billion. South Korea comes next with almost $146 million. Germany follows with almost $69 million, and then Australia with $27.2 million. The next most funded sector is education. Projects in this sector received $2 billion — or 11% of the total. Germany leads this with $551.3 million, which is followed by Japan with $110.1 million. The U.S. contributed $93.4 million, and then France, with almost $50 million. The energy sector follows with $1.7 billion — 9.2% of the total. Germany gave the most with $404.5 million. Canada comes next with $126.1 million, South Korea gave $84.6 million, and then Japan gave $79.2 million. Projects tagged as “Other multisector” also received $1.7 billion. Japan is at the forefront of this with $367.7 million. Followed by France with $175.5 million, Australia with $126.9 million, and Germany with $67.7 million. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1763987498451' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Fa/FarEastAsiaODA-Sectors/Dashboard1/1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a></noscript><object class='tableauViz' style='display:none;'><param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F' /> <param name='embed_code_version' value='3' /> <param name='site_root' value='' /><param name='name' value='FarEastAsiaODA-Sectors/Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/Fa/FarEastAsiaODA-Sectors/Dashboard1/1.png' /> <param name='animate_transition' value='yes' /><param name='display_static_image' value='yes' /><param name='display_spinner' value='yes' /><param name='display_overlay' value='yes' /><param name='display_count' value='yes' /><param name='language' value='en-US' /><param name='filter' value='publish=yes' /></object></div><param name='device' value='desktop' /><param name='showShareOptions' value='false' /> <script type='text/javascript'> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1763987498451'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='727px';} var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); </script> <i style=font-style: georgia;”>The top-funded sectors of East and Southeast Asia in 2023.</i> Who were the top implementers? According to the data from IATI, East and Southeast Asia received $18.8 billion in funding in 2023. This drastically differs from the data provided by the OECD. This is because the IATI data contains private financing and other aid flows. In terms of reporting organizations — those that provide money — the biggest one is the World Bank. It provided $6.7 billion — or 35.5% — of the total. Next is the Asian Development Bank, or ADB, with $6.3 billion — or 33.8% — of the total. The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, comes in third with $788.8 million. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or DFAT, reported giving $665.9 million. When it comes to receiving organizations — those that use the money — the Philippines Department of Finance tops the list. It received $2.7 billion in aid. The Indonesian Ministry of Finance comes next with $1 billion. One project, amounting to $750 million, was awarded to different government bodies in the Philippines, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. There is roughly $1 billion unaccounted for. This is because the receiving organization has been redacted from the data, and there are some that do not have a specified organization. What can we expect? Much like the rest of Asia, the United States’ presence is lower than that of Japan and Germany. Countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia will feel the decrease in aid, but it will not be as devastating. The government and civil society sector is one of the top-funded sectors in the United States. It gave almost $226 million to projects in this field. In the coming years, we can expect that projects in this sector will drop significantly. 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East and Southeast Asia receive significant amounts of official development assistance, or ODA. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development classifies the following 11 countries as belonging to this region: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Most countries in the region are surrounded by the ocean. Major river systems such as the Mekong and Red Rivers sprawl across the land. The region is rich in natural and human-made wonders such as the rice terraces in the Philippines, the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the Hạ Long Bay in Vietnam.
Despite the cultural richness and beautiful landscapes, the region is plagued by the troubled waters of civil unrest and human rights issues that are not commonly known worldwide.
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Alecsondra Si is a Junior Development Analyst at Devex. She analyzes funding data from bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, and other public and private donors to produce content for Devex Pro and Pro Funding readers. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Studies - major in European Studies from De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
