South Africa: Net official flows from UN agencies, UNAIDS (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, South Africa's net official flows from UN agencies, UNAIDS (current US$) rose 2,517.4% on 2022 (from US$190,507 to US$4.99 million).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was +70.1% and a typical year strayed about 185.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 13.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2,517.4% in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 88.3% in 2008. 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 8% of the movement over 8 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, South Africa had the 2nd highest value of the 83 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 South Africa in the 2023 ranking

• Indonesia — 2nd of 83: US$1.59 million
• Senegal — 3rd of 83: US$1.39 million
• Côte d'Ivoire — 4th of 83: US$1.3 million

What this measures

Net official flows from UN agencies are the net disbursements of total official flows from the UN agencies. Total official flows are the sum of Official Development Assistance (ODA) or official aid and Other Official Flows (OOF) and represent the total disbursements by the official sector at large to the recipient country. Net disbursements are gross disbursements of grants and loans minus repayments of principal on earlier loans. ODA consists of loans made on concessional terms (with a grant element of at least 25 percent, calculated at a rate of discount of 10 percent) and grants made to promote economic development and welfare in countries and territories in the DAC list of ODA recipients. Official aid refers to aid flows 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.

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

All 17 values

Net official flows from UN agencies, UNAIDS (current US$) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$87,070 (2023)
• Benin — US$96,396 (2023)
• Botswana — US$268,404 (2023)
• Burkina Faso — US$295,497 (2023)
• Burundi — US$99,255 (2023)
• Cameroon — US$230,842 (2023)
• Central African Republic — US$265,801 (2023)
• Chad — US$213,677 (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$326,687 (2023)

More economic policy & debt data for South Africa

• Trade in services (% of GDP) — 9.32% (2025)
• Communications, computer, etc. (% of service imports, BoP) — 44.9% (2025)
• Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) — US$20.32 billion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current US$, BoP) — US$126.24 billion (2025)
• Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) — 5.58% (2025)
• Goods imports (current US$, BoP) — US$104.47 billion (2025)
• Service imports (current US$, BoP) — US$21.77 billion (2025)
• Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$1.74 billion (2025)
• Imports of goods, services and primary income (current US$, BoP)

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 South Africa's net official flows from UN agencies, UNAIDS (current US$)?

US$4.99 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is up 547.56% from US$770,000 in 2005 (10.94% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$4.99 million in 2023 and the lowest US$190,507 in 2022.

How does South Africa rank?

2nd highest of 83 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in net official flows from UN agencies, UNAIDS (current US$) unusual for South Africa?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.NFL.UNAI.CD, 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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