China: Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, China's net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) fell US$36.99 million on 2022 (from −US$230.17 million to −US$267.16 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −US$131.89 million and a typical year strayed about US$434.07 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$1.1 billion in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was US$1.61 billion in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 26% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, China had the 136th highest value of the 136 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to China in the 2023 ranking

• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 133rd of 136: US$14.42 million
• Equatorial Guinea — 134th of 136: US$11.66 million
• Malaysia — 135th of 136: US$6.58 million

What this measures

Net official development assistance (ODA) consists of disbursements of loans made on concessional terms (net of repayments of principal) and grants by official agencies of the members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), by multilateral institutions, and by non-DAC countries to promote economic development and welfare in countries and territories in the DAC list of ODA recipients. It includes loans with a grant element of at least 25 percent (calculated at a rate of discount of 10 percent). Net official aid refers to aid flows (net of repayments) from official donors to countries and territories in part II of the DAC list of recipients: more advanced countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the countries of the former Soviet Union, and certain advanced developing countries and territories. Official aid is provided under terms and conditions similar to those for ODA. Part II of the DAC List was abolished in 2005. The collection of data on official aid and other resource flows to Part II countries ended with 2004 data. Data are in constant 2023 U.S. dollars.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 45 values

Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) in nearby economies

• Cambodia — US$1.58 billion (2023)
• Fiji — US$190.19 million (2023)
• Indonesia — US$1.16 billion (2023)
• Kiribati — US$98.32 million (2023)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — US$14.42 million (2023)
• Lao PDR — US$514.84 million (2023)
• Malaysia — US$6.58 million (2023)
• Marshall Islands

More economic policy & debt data for China

• Exports of goods and services (current US$) — US$4.11 trillion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (current LCU) — 29.54 trillion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 21.07% (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current US$) — US$3.29 trillion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current LCU) — 23.67 trillion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 16.89% (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (current US$) — US$816.19 billion (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (current LCU) — 5.87 trillion (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) — 4.19% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is China's net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$)?

−US$267.16 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1979?

It is down 709.93% from US$43.8 million in 1979. The highest value was US$3.89 billion in 1993 and the lowest −US$829.19 million in 2017.

How does China rank?

136th highest of 136 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) unusual for China?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.ODA.ALLD.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Development Assistance Committee, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), uri: https://stats.oecd.org/; Geographical Distribution of Financial Flows to Developing Countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), uri: https://stats.oecd.org/; Developmen… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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