Who’s funding development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean?

In 2023, Latin America and the Caribbean recorded a cumulative gross national product of $7 trillion — nearly 50% more than its gross domestic product at the beginning of the pandemic. But despite its growing economy, high levels of inequality remain a prevailing problem in the region. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that people in the richest decile make 12 times more than the region’s poorest decile — much higher than the global average of four. In this analysis, we looked into official sources to see how much aid the Development Assistance Committee member countries spent in Latin America and the Caribbean to support development projects. We also looked into the top recipient countries and sectors and identified the major implementing agencies in the region. How we got the data We used the creditor reporting system, or CRS, to map out the total aid disbursement and top recipient countries and sectors in 2022, which is the latest final data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Meanwhile, we relied on the country development finance data for 2022 from the International Aid Transparency Initiative, or IATI, for the list of top bilateral and multilateral agencies and NGOs implementing development and humanitarian projects in the region. Although the 2023 data is available, we used the 2022 data for consistency. Additionally, the IATI data is not limited to aid disbursements but also includes other official flows, private development finance, and other non-ODA development financing. Reporting to IATI is voluntary and some bilateral agencies do not submit their complete financial data. This makes the CRS more reliable in providing an overview of the total ODA spending. However, the IATI data provides better information on implementing partners in the region. Overall figures Based on the OECD, LAC received $9.8 billion of aid from DAC donors in 2022. This is the same amount, in real terms, as the previous year. The region received an additional $1.4 billion in other official flows, or OOF, which are disbursements from DAC that do meet the ODA criteria. This includes projects that are commercial in nature, export credits, and development activities with less than 25% grant component. Of the total ODA, nearly $8.1 billion went to country-specific activities. Colombia was the overall top recipient country with $1.9 billion, or 19.3% of the total ODA to LAC. Brazil ranked next, with $921.7 million, then Peru, with $919.2 million, and Mexico, with $706.3 million. According to IDB, these countries recorded some of the highest levels of income inequality in the region. Meanwhile, Grenada received the least aid, worth $2.3 million. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines followed, with $6 million, Dominica, with $9.1 million, and Belize, with $11.2 million. The remaining $1.8 billion of aid went to regional and multicountry projects. Who were the largest donors? The U.S. is the region’s largest donor, with $2.8 billion of aid in 2022. This accounted for 28.6% of the total. Colombia was the U.S.’s top recipient country, with $572.1 million, then Haiti, with $276 million, and Guatemala, with $230.8 million. Germany ranked next among DAC donors, with $2.4 billion — about a quarter of the total. Its priority recipient countries included Peru, with $566.3 million, Brazil, with $513.6 million, and Colombia, with $494.2 million. France also spent a significant amount for the region, worth $1.4 billion. Its largest recipients were Mexico, with $355 million, Colombia, with $298.5 million, and Brazil, with $174.8 million. The other top donors were Japan, with $911.3 million, Canada, with $545.1 million, and Spain, with $396.1 million. What were the priority sectors? In 2022, DAC donors spent $1.1 billion on emergency response in LAC. More than 80% of this, worth $913.2 million, came from the U.S., followed by Canada, with $58.3 million, and Germany, with $34. million. Around 43.5% of the total aid for emergency response, worth $488 million, went to regional and multicountry activities. Colombia was the top recipient among countries, with $181.1 million, then Venezuela, with $140.3 million, and Haiti, with $92.2 million. The government and civil society sector ranked next among sectors, with nearly $1.1 billion. Its biggest donors included the U.S., with $381.6 million, Germany, with $220.6 million, and Spain, with $107.1 million. Colombia received the biggest portion of aid to government and civil society among countries, worth $258.8 million, followed by Guatemala, with $88 million, and Mexico, with $67.7 million. Health was also a priority, with $767 million. The U.S. spent the largest, worth $210.6 million, followed by Canada, with $153.1 million, then Germany, with $131.9 million. The top recipients of health financing were Peru, with $125.3 million, Colombia, with $109.6 million, and Mexico, with $80 million. Who’s implementing development and humanitarian activities in LAC? Based on IATI, public and private donors disbursed $24.7 billion in LAC in 2022 to support development and humanitarian activities in the region. The figure is higher than the OECD’s as it includes ODA, OOF, and private development finance. The money was channeled through a mix of implementing bilateral and multilateral organizations and NGOs. The Ministry of Economy of Argentina got the biggest sum among bilateral recipients, worth $1.2 billion, followed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Ecuador, with $664.9 million, and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, with $552.8 million. Meanwhile, United Nations agencies were among the top implementing multilaterals in LAC, with the World Food Programme receiving the largest portion, worth $729 million. The United Nations Development Programme ranked next, with $271.1 million, then the Pan American Health Organization, with $163 million. World Vision was the top implementing partner among NGOs, receiving $46.5 million. Mercy Corps followed, with $37 million, then the International Committee of the Red Cross, with $35.1 million. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.