US Foreign Aid Declines Sharply in 2025 Amid Trump Administration Cuts

Preliminary Data Shows Decline in International Development Aid from OECD Members

Washington, DC - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released preliminary data indicating a 23% decline in international development aid from its member countries between 2024 and 2025. The majority of this decrease was attributed to a significant reduction in funding from the United States.

According to the OECD’s data, foreign aid assistance from the US decreased by nearly 57% in 2025, while other top contributors such as Germany, the UK, Japan, and France also saw declines. This represents the largest annual drop in development assistance since the OECD began recording the data.

The total international development assistance for 2025 totaled $174.3 billion, down from $214.6 billion in 2024. Only eight member countries met or exceeded their funding targets in 2025.

OECD officials have expressed concern over the decline in development funding, citing growing global uncertainty and extreme poverty. The data covers the 34 members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which provide the majority of global foreign assistance.

The US contributed $63 billion in official development assistance in 2024, compared to just $29 billion in 2025. Research has suggested that cuts to US funding have corresponded with an increase in armed conflict in Africa and may lead to upticks in cases of HIV-AIDS, malaria, and polio.

The OECD’s data provides a snapshot of global development aid, but it does not include non-DAC members such as Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, and China. The US has maintained that its aid model is being transformed, despite critics arguing that some recent agreements with African countries involve requests for mineral access or health data.

Source: Al Jazeera