How much aid goes to southern Africa?
Almost $2 billion was given in official development assistance to southern Africa. Who were the biggest donors? Where did the money go? And who received the most? Devex crunched the numbers to find out.
In this analysis, we consider the level of aid going to southern Africa. The region, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, comprises five countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. It contains geographic wonders such as the Great Escarpment, a plateau edge that runs predominantly within South Africa and Lesotho, and the Kalahari Desert. However, the countries of the region face a number of challenges, from gender-based violence in South Africa to a lack of democratic reform in Eswatini — one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchies — to high unemployment in Namibia. In order to find out what support is flowing to these nations, Devex used the creditor reporting system from the OECD and the country finance dataset from the International Aid Transparency Initiative, or IATI. All data is for the year 2023, and figures are in 2023 constant prices unless stated otherwise. 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. Given the uncertain nature of future contributions from the United States, we will also present figures that do not include its contribution. What does the data tell us? In 2023, the southern Africa region received almost $2 billion in official development assistance. This was a slight increase from $1.7 billion in 2022. Over the past five years, aid has remained at a steady pace, neither dipping nor rising sharply. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1760087052269' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/So/SouthernAfricaODA-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='SouthernAfricaODA-YearonYear/Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/So/SouthernAfricaODA-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' /></object></div><param name='device' value='desktop' /><param name='showShareOptions' value='false' /> <script type='text/javascript'> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1760087052269'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='720px';vizElement.style.height='747px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='720px';vizElement.style.height='747px';} 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 southern Africa from 2019–2023.</i> The United States is the biggest donor to the region. In 2023, the U.S. gave $886.2 million — or 45.3% of the overall — in ODA. The most money went to South Africa, amounting to $552.1 million. Lesotho follows with $87.8 million, and then Namibia with $86 million. The U.S. is followed by Germany with nearly $572 million. Germany also gave the most to South Africa with $407.2 million, then Namibia with $158 million, and then Lesotho with $1 million. France provided $192.1 million to the region. South Africa received the most money with $170.7 million, and then Eswatini with $7.8 million. Japan provided $128.9 million to the region, with the most — $112.5 million — given to Botswana. Canada then follows with $67.9 million, with South Africa as its largest recipient, receiving $66.8 million. Where did the money go? At a country level, South Africa received the bulk of the overall funding with $1.3 billion. The U.S., Germany, France, and Canada are its biggest donors. Namibia follows with $257.1 million, with Germany, the U.S., and Japan as its biggest donors. Botswana got $171.9 million, with Japan, the U.S., and South Korea as its largest donors. Lesotho got $94.7 million, with the U.S., Japan, and South Korea as its biggest donors. Eswatini got $75.1 million, with the U.S., France, and Japan as its main donors. Projects that cover multiple southern African countries, which are labeled as “southern Africa, unspecified,” got $78.3 million. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1760088232525' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/So/SouthernAfricaODA-Recipient/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='SouthernAfricaODA-Recipient/Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/So/SouthernAfricaODA-Recipient/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('viz1760088232525'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='720px';vizElement.style.height='747px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='720px';vizElement.style.height='747px';} 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 from southern Africa in 2023.</i> Which sectors were funded the most? In terms of sectors, the most prioritized is the population policies/programs and reproductive health sector. In 2023, $665.7 million was allocated to projects under this sector. The largest donor was the U.S., giving $650.4 million. Energy comes next with $469.9 million, with Germany contributing the most with $356.1 million. The health sector follows with a total of $143.3 million, with the U.S. as the largest contributor, providing $115 million. The government and civil society sectors follow with $132.4 million. Germany gave the most to this sector with $93.9 million. Projects covering multiple sectors received $137.9 million. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1760088878553' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/So/SouthernAfricaODA-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='SouthernAfricaODA-Sectors/Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/So/SouthernAfricaODA-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('viz1760088878553'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='720px';vizElement.style.height='747px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='720px';vizElement.style.height='747px';} 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 southern Africa in 2023.</i> Who were the top implementers? According to the country finance data from IATI, the southern African region received $2.2 billion in aid. This figure is slightly higher than the OECD figure, in part because it includes figures for private finance. The data contains two classifications: the reporting organization, which is the donor, and the receiver organization, which is the implementer. Among reporting organizations, the U.S. Agency for International Development reported the highest numbers. It gave $476.4 million in aid to the region. Next is the African Development Bank, with $373.2 million, and then the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with $306.1 million. Among receiving organizations, the Ministry of Finance of South Africa received the most money with $301.1 million. The National Department of Health of the Republic of South Africa follows with $83.4 million. The World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development comes next with $61.9 million, and then the University of the Witwatersrand with $60.7 million There is around $193.7 million worth of funding unaccounted for. This is in part because the data has not been provided, but also because some receiving organizations have been redacted in the dataset. What can we expect in the future? With the U.S. signaling an intention to step back from aid, how would this region fare? The U.S. contributed a significant sum to the region. Without the country’s contribution, the 2023 ODA for the region sits at $1.1 billion. If this trend continues, we will be seeing a decline in aid to southern Africa, the lowest it has seen in the past five years. Donors such as Germany, France, and Japan will carry the brunt of the funding. Since the U.S. is the largest donor in population programs, we can also expect a decline in projects related to this sector. Southern African priorities may shift to energy and health-related projects. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.
In this analysis, we consider the level of aid going to southern Africa.
The region, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, comprises five countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa.
It contains geographic wonders such as the Great Escarpment, a plateau edge that runs predominantly within South Africa and Lesotho, and the Kalahari Desert.
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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.
