How much aid does Sweden give, and where does it go?
Short answer: Sweden gave SEK 56.7 billion in development aid in 2025, 0.85 percent of gross national income (GNI) according to preliminary OECD figures. That is the third highest among donor countries relative to the size of the economy, after Norway and Luxembourg. From 1968 the target was to give one percent of GNI. The government dropped it in the budget for 2023 and set a fixed frame in kronor: SEK 56 billion a year from 2023 to 2025 and SEK 53 billion a year from 2026 to 2028. Part of the frame does not go to aid abroad: in 2026, SEK 9.4 billion is deducted, mostly for Sweden's share of EU aid and for asylum seekers in Sweden. In 2025 Ukraine was the country that received the most of Sida's aid.
More on the site: State budget shows aid among the state's other spending, Sweden in the world how Sweden compares with other countries, Sweden in the EU the EU contribution and Migration how many seek asylum in Sweden.
How much Sweden has given since 1960.
Sweden's official development assistance according to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), net disbursements in current prices, SEK billion. The figures for 2025 are preliminary. Source: OECD DAC1.
Aid as a share of GNI. Up to 2017 net disbursements divided by GNI, from 2018 the OECD grant equivalent measure, where loans count according to how concessional they are. The second line is the one percent target, which applied from 1968 to 2022. The target applied to the budgeted frame, so disbursements can differ in a single year. Source: OECD DAC1.
In 1968 the Riksdag decided that aid should reach one percent of gross national product, according to the original plan by the budget year 1974/75. The UN target for rich countries is 0.7 percent. According to the OECD series, Sweden first reached one percent in 1982. The share peaked in 2015 at 1.40 percent, when the costs of asylum seekers in Sweden were unusually large.
In the budget bill for 2023 the government (M, KD and L, supported by SD) dropped the one percent target and set the frame at SEK 56 billion a year from 2023 to 2025. From 2026 the frame is SEK 53 billion a year up to and including 2028, under an agreement between the government and SD. That is roughly 0.74 percent of GNI in 2026 and 0.68 percent in 2028, according to Concord's calculation. The government refers to the reform agenda "Development assistance for a new era" from December 2023, with a particular focus on Ukraine.
| Year | Aid frame | Expenditure area 7 | Total aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 % of GNI | 45,802 | 55,226 |
| 2023 | 56,000 | 51,582 | 59,609 |
| 2024 | 56,000 | 44,959 | 52,887 |
| 2025 | 56,000 | no data | no data |
| 2026 | 53,000 | 43,648 budgeted | no data |
| 2027 and 2028 | 53,000 a year | no data | no data |
Expenditure area 7, International development cooperation, is the part of the state budget that goes to Sida and other aid agencies. Total aid counted under OECD rules also includes spending from other parts of the budget, such as EU aid and asylum costs. The outcomes for 2022 to 2024 refer to the year paid out. Source: the budget bill for 2026, prop. 2025/26:1 expenditure area 7.
The part of the frame that stays in Sweden or goes through the EU.
Costs of asylum seekers and people in need of protection during their first year in Sweden, and Sweden's share of EU aid, as Sweden reports them to the OECD, SEK billion in current prices. Source: OECD DAC1.
What is deducted from the aid frame in 2026 according to the budget bill, SEK billion. The rest of the frame is expenditure area 7. Source: prop. 2025/26:1 expenditure area 7.
OECD rules allow a country to count some costs at home as aid, mainly the reception of asylum seekers during their first year. Sweden also deducts its share of the aid the EU pays out, and part of the cost of the foreign service. In 2015, SEK 20.2 billion, a third of all aid, went to receiving asylum seekers in Sweden. In 2025 it was SEK 1.9 billion.
The deduction for migration may be at most 8 percent of the frame. When asylum costs turn out lower than estimated, the money is returned: in April 2026 the government returned SEK 1,668 million to aid, because the costs for 2025 were lower than expected.
Directly to countries or through the UN, the EU and the World Bank.
Aid by channel in the latest year available for each channel, SEK billion. Sweden itself directs bilateral aid to a country, a region or a purpose, even when a UN agency or a civil society organisation carries it out. Multilateral aid is core support that the organisations allocate themselves; the EU, the UN, IDA and the regional development banks are part of it. IDA is the World Bank's fund for the poorest countries; its latest figure is from 2024. Source: OECD DAC1.
Bilateral and multilateral aid, net disbursements, SEK billion in current prices. Source: OECD DAC1.
In 2025, SEK 33.3 billion went bilaterally and SEK 23.4 billion multilaterally, so roughly 41 percent was core support to international organisations.
Where Sida's money goes.
Sida's disbursements in 2025 by recipient country, SEK million. Aid to whole regions or without a stated country is not included. Source: Sida's reporting under the IATI standard, Openaid.
Sida's disbursements in the same year by sector, using the OECD sector codes, SEK million. Source: Sida's reporting under the IATI standard, Openaid.
The list shows only the part of aid that Sida pays out. In 2025 Ukraine received the most, SEK 3.1 billion. Next came mainly countries in sub-Saharan Africa, such as DR Congo, Mozambique and Ethiopia, and countries in crisis such as Sudan, Syria and the Palestinian territories. The largest sector was government and civil society, followed by emergency response. The full list for every year since 1998 is on State budget.
Sweden compared with other donor countries.
Aid as a share of GNI in 2025 for the members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee and Türkiye, grant equivalents, preliminary figures. Source: OECD DAC1.
Four countries met the UN target of 0.7 percent in 2025: Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark. The United States, the largest donor in money terms, gave 0.09 percent of its GNI.
Aid to Ukraine, on its own.
Sweden's bilateral aid to Ukraine and its humanitarian part, SEK million, converted from dollars at each year's exchange rate. Core support through the EU and other organisations is not included. Source: OECD DAC2A.
Before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Sweden gave a few hundred million kronor a year in aid to Ukraine. In 2024 the bilateral support was SEK 4.7 billion according to the budget bill. On top of that, part of Sweden's EU deduction goes to the EU Ukraine Facility, SEK 787 million in 2026.
Military support is outside the aid frame. The government has set a frame for it of SEK 75 billion for 2024 to 2026, SEK 25 billion a year.
What the parties want for the aid frame.
| Suggestions | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | The one percent target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The government (M, KD, L) and SD | 53 (0.74 %) | 53 (0.70 %) | 53 (0.68 %) | A fixed frame in kronor instead |
| Social Democrats | 54 (0.75 %) | 55 (0.73 %) | 57 (0.73 %) | Wants to return to one percent, no year given |
| Left Party | 57 (0.79 %) | 59 (0.78 %) | 61 (0.78 %) | Wants to return to one percent over time |
| Centre Party | 54.1 | 55.5 | 56.5 | Wants a gradual increase |
| Green Party | 72.1 (1.00 %) | 75.4 | 78.2 | Restores one percent at once |
The aid frame in the budget bill and in the parties' budget motions for 2026, SEK billion and share of GNI where stated. The Centre Party also proposes a debt-financed fund for Ukraine's development, outside the frame. The Sweden Democrats back the government's budget. Compiled by Concord Sweden, an umbrella organisation for Swedish development organisations, 9 October 2025. How the parties voted on other issues is on Major decisions.
Where the figures come from.
- OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC): tables DAC1 and DAC2A through OECD Data Explorer, licence CC BY 4.0. The figures for 2025 are preliminary.
- Sida: disbursements by country and sector from Sida's reporting under the IATI standard, published on Openaid.
- The Riksdag and the government: the budget bill for 2026, expenditure area 7, the press releases The government adjusts the aid frame from 2026 (17 September 2024) and the money returned to aid (9 April 2026).
- The one percent target from 1968: the Expert Group for Aid Studies, EBA.
- The parties' proposals: Concord Sweden, The opposition parties' aid budgets (9 October 2025).
The OECD series are converted from dollars to kronor.