France is the fifth-biggest donor in the world in terms of official development assistance. In 2020, the country’s ODA reached 0.53% of its gross national income.
The Agence Française de Développement, both a public agency and a development bank, is the country’s main institution disbursing foreign aid. Its financing has been untied since 2002, meaning all procurements are eligible for AFD financing, regardless of the provider’s country of origin.
Between 2019 and 2020, the agency supported over 1,000 development projects across 115 countries. The largest commitments were in Africa, with an annual commitment of €6.5 billion ($7.8 billion). Asia came in second with an annual commitment of €3.3 billion. In 2019, the top-funded sectors were infrastructure and urban development with €4.7 billion, productive sectors with €3.2 billion, and water and sanitation with €1.2 billion.