Official Development Assistance (ODA) to refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries
Information
Full name
Official development assistance (ODA) to refugee situations in low- and middle-income recipient countries, including support for refugees and host communities as well as refugee returnees in countries of origin
Short name
Official Development Assistance (ODA) to refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries
Code
ODAVolume
Definition
ODA for refugee situations in LICs and MICs includes ODA and concessional outflows from multilateral organisations, as well as other official flows (OOF), for the benefit of refugees and their host communities in refugee-hosting countries, and for refugee returnees in countries of origin. ODA is flows to countries and territories on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of ODA recipients and to multilateral development institutions that are: (i) provided by official agencies, including state and local governments, or by their executive agencies; and (ii) concessional (i.e., grants and soft loans) and administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as the main objective.
The eligibility criteria are the following:
- Refugees and host communities: 1. Activities with the primary objective of supporting refugees, asylum seekers and/or stateless persons; and/or 2. Larger programmes that promote the inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers and/or stateless persons in socioeconomic development or as beneficiaries of social services of the host community, in cases where at least 50% of the targeted beneficiaries of the programme are refugees, asylum seekers and/or stateless persons, or when the principal objective of the programme is to support refugees and host communities; and/or 3. Activities promoting durable solutions in the country of asylum (local integration, voluntary return support).
- Voluntary refugee return and reintegration: 1. Activities with the primary objective of supporting voluntary refugee repatriation and/or reintegration in the country of origin; and/or 2. Larger programmes that promote the inclusion of refugee returnees in socioeconomic development or as beneficiaries of social services of the country of origin, in cases where at least 50% of the targeted beneficiaries of the programme are refugee returnees, or when the principal objective of the programme is to support returnees and receiving communities.
ODA recipient countries are defined by the DAC. The DAC list of ODA Recipients shows all countries and territories eligible to receive ODA. These consist of all low- and middle-income countries based on gross national income (GNI) per capita as published by the World Bank, with the exception of G8 members, EU members, and countries with a firm date for entry into the EU. The list also includes all of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as defined by the United Nations (UN). The DAC revises the list every three years. Countries that have exceeded the high-income threshold for three consecutive years at the time of the review are removed.
Data are available in constant prices (i.e., deflated values) for comparison over time or current prices (i.e., non-deflated) for analysis in a single year. The base_period indicates the base year used for deflating to constant prices.
Recipient countries are mapped to income groups based on the World Bank income classification. This classification varies over time, meaning that any change in a country’s income group from one year to another is applied accordingly.
Source: OECD (2026), CRS: Creditor Reporting System (flows), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?fs[0]=Topic%2C1%7CDevelopment%23DEV%23%7COfficial%20Development%20Assistance%20%28ODA%29%23DEV_ODA%23&pg=0&fc=Topic&bp=true&snb=20&vw=tb&df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_CRS%40DF_CRS&df[ag]=OECD.DCD.FSD&df[vs]=1.6&dq=DAC..1000.100._T._T.D.V%2BQ._T..&lom=LASTNPERIODS&lo=5&to[TIME_PERIOD]=false
Rationale
Millions of refugees live in protracted situations, often in low- and middle-income countries facing their own economic and development challenges. There is a critical need for more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees, while taking account of existing contributions, and the differing capacities and resources among States. Development finance can support durable solutions for refugees, in particular voluntary return and reintegration, but also local integration and resettlement in third countries. Such investments also contribute to overall peace and stability outcomes.
Method of computation
The OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS) systematically records Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Other Official Flows (OOFs) reported by members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and by multilateral institutions, including United Nations entities, which report on the use of unearmarked or core funding. A small number of non-DAC providers also report voluntarily. The sum of ODA disbursements contributing to refugee-hosting contexts can be computed by summing the total value of ODA and concessional outflows from multilateral organizations for the desired unit of measure (USD or USD deflated) where the population type is refugee and host community (REF; HST) against the desired dimension. The sum of ODA disbursement contributing to refugee returns can be computed by summing the total value of ODA and concessional outflows from multilateral organizations for the desired unit of measure (USD or USD deflated) where the population type is refugee returnee (RET). Data collected using this methodology and currently available cover the years 2020 – 2023. For subsequent years, data on ODA for refugee situations is expected to be released approximately 18 months after the activities have taken place. This timeline reflects the standard ODA data processing cycle: the OECD first compiles and publishes complete and detailed general ODA data approximately one year after the end of the reporting year. Data specifically tagged for refugee situations are then processed and published about six months later.
Comparability
International definition and standards
Relationships
| Framework | Indicator | Comparability |
|---|---|---|
| Global Compact on Refugees Indicator Framework | Proportion of official development assistance (ODA) for the benefit of refugees and host communities channeled to national actors in the refugee-hosting ODA recipient country | Comparable |
| Global Compact on Refugees Indicator Framework | Volume of official development assistance (ODA) for the benefit of refugees and host communities in the refugee hosting ODA recipient country | Comparable |
| Global Compact on Refugees Indicator Framework | Volume of official development assistance (ODA) for the benefit of refugee returnees in the ODA recipient country of origin | Comparable |
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Limitations
While formally adopted by DAC members, the use of keywords / hashtags in the CRS is voluntary. The scope and quality of data will therefore depend on the extent of usage, and related outreach and advocacy to ODA providers to apply the methodology during their development finance reporting. Although this approach has only been in use for a few years, improvements in reporting have already been noted. As the methodology continues to be applied and refined, it is expected to yield a more comprehensive understanding of the support provided by these actors to refugee situations.
The data does not include “in-donor refugee costs”.
Quality assurance
https://www.oecd.org/en/data/insights/data-explainers/2024/10/resources-for-reporting-development-finance-statistics.html
https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2025/11/development-finance-for-refugee-situations-volume-and-trends-2022-2023_cafc4660/05f247ae-en.pdf
https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2023/11/development-finance-for-refugee-situations-volume-and-trends-2020-2021_46c7725d/cc2df199-en.pdf
Data sources
OECD data on ODA for refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries - 2022
OECD_WRL_2022_CRS
2022
Multisource
OECD
OECD data on ODA for refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries - 2023
OECD_WRL_2023_CRS
2023
Multisource
OECD
OECD data on ODA for refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries - 2020
OECD_WRL_2020_CRS
2020
Multisource
OECD
The 2020-2021 data were calculated by combining the following data: 1. Eligible financing flows reported by respondents to the survey (DAC members, bilaterals, MDBs) 2. Use of un-earmarked core funding, as reported by UN entities, based on existing OECD CRS. The was data were compiled through the 2023 ad hoc refugee financing survey using a methodology closely aligned with the terminology and reporting directives of the OECD DAC CRS.
OECD data on ODA for refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries - 2024
OECD_WRL_2024_CRS
2024
Multisource
OECD
OECD data on ODA for refugee situations in low- and middle-income countries - 2021
OECD_WRL_2021_CRS
2021
Multisource
OECD
The 2020-2021 data were calculated by combining the following data: 1. Eligible financing flows reported by respondents to the survey (DAC members, bilaterals, MDBs) 2. Use of un-earmarked core funding, as reported by UN entities, based on existing OECD CRS. The was data were compiled through the 2023 ad hoc refugee financing survey using a methodology closely aligned with the terminology and reporting directives of the OECD DAC CRS.