Norway

Summary

ODA Spending

How much ODA does Norway contribute?

In 2022, Norway was the 3^rd largest DAC donor in proportion to the size of its economy. The country spent 0.86% of its GNI on ODA in 2022. OECD data show Norway dropped below Sweden, which spent 0.9% ODA/GNI in 2022. There is broad political support for Norway to return to a 1% ODA/GNI ratio.

How is Norwegian ODA changing?

2022 was the second year in a row, and the third time since 2013, that Norway did not meet its 1% ODA/GNI target. The year also represented Norway's lowest ODA/GNI ratio in the past decade, driven by an unexpected increase in GNI. Norway's total ODA rose by 2% compared to 2021 levels. Without IDRCs, which made up 9% of total ODA, Norway's ODA fell by 6% compared to 2021 levels.

In 2022, the center-left government proposed reducing ODA to 0.75% of GNI in 2023. However, this proposal was abandoned in December 2022 following domestic and global criticism of Norway’s failure to increase ODA spending in proportion to its gains in GNI due to the war in Ukraine. Following negotiations with the SV party, the government announced an additional five-year funding package worth NOK75 billion, or US$7.8 billion, for Ukraine to maintain an ODA/GNI ratio of 1%.

ODA increased by 11% between 2021-2022. However, soaring petroleum revenues due to the war in Ukraine drastically increased Norway’s GNI in 2022, a trend that continued into 2023.

Over the past decade, IDRCs have decreased from a peak of 18% of ODA in 2016 to 1% of ODA in 2021. While the government decided to increase ODA spending on refugee costs in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, estimated costs comprise 3.7% of ODA in 2023 and are expected to remain low in future years.

Where is Norwegian ODA allocated?

Norway’s government considers funding through multilateral organizations an effective way to pursue its priorities. Support for multilateral organizations is composed of earmarked funding through multilaterals for specific sectors or regions as well as core funding to multilaterals.

Alongside multilaterals, CSOs are key partners for Norwegian development cooperation. In 2022, 21% of Norwegian bilateral ODA was channeled through CSOs, well above the DAC average of 11%.

In recent years, Norway has increasingly prioritized private sector development and job creation in development cooperation. Much of Norway’s support for economic development is administered through Norfund, a state-owned investment fund supporting private-sector activities in partner countries, whose investments are not ODA-eligible.

Bilateral Spending

Norway’s strategic priorities are reflected in its bilateral funding allocations. In 2022, humanitarian assistance received the largest share of bilateral ODA at 16%. In-country refugee costs and energy were the next largest priorities, receiving 12% and 11% of ODA, respectively.

For 2023, the government decided to increase funding for humanitarian assistance, efforts to combat hunger and climate change, and efforts to promote women’s rights. This trend is in accord with the Hurdalen platform, the coalition agreement that outlines the overarching direction of the government to the parliament for the period 2021-2025.

Norway directs most of its ODA to LICs, as defined by the DAC. Because a large share of Norway’s ODA is channeled as earmarked funding through multilaterals to support CSOs and in-country refugee costs, 57% of Norway’s bilateral ODA in 2021 was not allocated to a specific income group. As a result, explicit funding for LICs officially accounted for only 17% of bilateral ODA in 2022. However, including the share of bilateral ODA provided for multilateral projects in LICs or refugee costs, 52% of bilateral ODA went to LICs.

Multilateral Spending and Commitments

In 2022, Norway channeled 20% of its ODA, or US$966 million, as core contributions to multilateral organizations, significantly below the 41% average among members of the OECD DAC. However, Norway channeled another 31% of its ODA, or US$1.5 billion, in the form of earmarked funding through multilaterals, much higher than the DAC’s average of 16%.

Norway published guidelines for its multilateral policy in a 2019 MFA white paper entitled ‘Norway’s Role and Interest in Multilateral Cooperation.’

Norway is a strong supporter of the UN system. UN agencies received 43% of Norway’s core contributions to multilateral organizations in 2021. 14% went to the World Bank, and 10% to regional development banks. The current government strongly supports vertical funds, especially in the global health sector.

Recent commitments to multilateral organizations are summarized below.

Politics & Priorities

What is the current state of Norwegian politics?

Norway is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. Political power is divided among the cabinet, called the Council of the State, which is overseen by the prime minister; the legislature, or Storting; and the judiciary, which is independent of the other branches. There are elections for the Storting every four years. The five dominant political parties are the Labor Party or ‘Arbeiderpartiert’, the Conservative Party, the Center Party or ‘Senterpartiert’, the Progress Party, and the SV Party.

Jonas Gahr Støre is the current prime minister of Norway and has been in office since October 2021. The AP and SP are part of the coalition government and have both been in power since the general elections in September 2021.

Who is responsible for allocating Norwegian ODA?

Click for more details on each actor.

What are Norway's development priorities?

Norway’s development policy priorities are listed in the MFA’s 2016 white paper, Common responsibility for a common future – the Sustainable Development Goals and Norwegian Development Policy, and include:

• Education;
• Global health;
• Humanitarian assistance;
• Private sector development, agriculture, and renewable energy; and
• Climate change, environment, and oceans.

The current government’s priorities for 2021-2025 were published in the Hurdalen platform and include:

• Climate and clean energy;
• The fight against hunger;
• The fight against inequality;
• Women’s rights;
• Humanitarian assistance; and
• The fight against infectious diseases.

At the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the government launched three new strategies closely aligned with its priorities within international development:

• A new strategy to combat hunger and enhance global food security was launched on November 29, 2022. The strategy is part of the government's work on food security and the fight against hunger, and their efforts to change food systems in developing countries.
• On February 16, 2023, the government launched a strategy for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and the fight against hunger. This strategy will provide the framework for Norwegian climate adaptation measures considering the threefold increase in funding for this area.
• In addition, an action plan on gender and sexuality diversity (2023–2026) was published on February 17, 2023, consisting of 49 measures to scale up efforts for the LGBTQ+ community domestically and abroad.

By issue

Climate change: The Norwegian government’s commitment to climate change, the environment, and oceans is reflected in its substantial funding for this issue. At COP26, Norway announced a target to double its overall climate finance from NOK7 billion, or US$743 million, in 2020 to NOK14 billion, or US$1.5 billion, by 2026. In February 2023, Norway launched a strategy for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and the fight against hunger which outlined its path to achieving this target.

One of the government’s largest development programs is NICFI, through which it has pledged up to NOK3 billion, or US$512 million, per year to reduce deforestation. Funding for this program is channeled through the Ministry of Climate and the Environment.

In May 2022, Norway launched its Climate Investment Fund. The fund is described as one of Norway’s most important tools in accelerating the global energy transition by investing in renewable energy in LMICs that have large emissions from coal and other fossil fuels. The fund will was launched with NOK2 billion, or US$208 million, each year for until 2027 and is managed by Norfund.

Norway is also a strong supporter of multilateral organizations for climate. In 2020, the government announced it would double its annual contribution to the GCF between 2020 and 2023, totaling NOK3.2 billion ( US$340 million) for the entire period, making Norway the organization’s 3^rd largest donor per capita.

Read more about Norway’s ODA to Climate

Education and gender equality: The previous government under former Prime Minister Erna Solberg prioritized education, particularly for girls and women. Between 2013-2017, funding to the sector doubled and has remained high. The current government under Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is committed to the goal of providing at least NOK3.4 billion ( US$354 million) to education between 2022-2026.

Within education, priority areas include:

• Enhancing opportunities for women and girls to complete high-quality and free primary and secondary schooling;
• Equal access to higher education (including university education) and quality technical and vocational training; and learning opportunities for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations.

Norway is the 4^th largest donor to GPE, committing NOK3.7 billion ( US$430 million) for 2021-2025.

Norway considers education a core component of its humanitarian assistance policy and shows international leadership in the area. It is one of five founding donors to ECW, a fund launched in 2016 that aims to improve access to education services in humanitarian emergencies and crises. In total, Norway has contributed US$83 million to the fund. During ECW’s High-level Financing Conference in February 2023, Norway announced an additional allocation of NOK500 million ( US$52 million) to the fund for the period 2023-2025. Norway is the 5^th largest donor to ECW after Germany, the UK, US, and Denmark.

Read more about Norway’s ODA related to Education

Read more about Norway’s ODA related to Gender Equality

Global health: Norway’s longstanding prioritization of global health was reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘health’ budget line within Norway’s ODA budget stood at NOK3.7 billion ( US$385 million) for 2023. According to Norad’s 2021 statistics, Norway’s contributions towards health-related ODA, including core support for multilateral organizations, stood at NOK7.9 billion, or US$920 million, in 2021. Of this, NOK2.9 billion ( US$338 million), supported COVID-19 response in LICs.

In the fall of 2019, the government launched its strategy Better Health, Better Lives, which focuses specifically on combatting non-communicable diseases through development cooperation (applicable from 2020-2024).

Read more about Norway’s ODA for Global Health

Agriculture: Food security and agriculture are highlighted as a main priority in the Hurdalen platform. In particular, the government’s approach to this topic focuses on sustainable, small-scale production and climate-smart agriculture. In the 2023 budget, NOK1.7 billion, or US$177 million, was allocated to this budget line, under the envelope for ‘Business development, agriculture and renewable energy’.

In November 2022, the government launched a new strategy on food security: Gathering power against famine - a policy for increasing self-sufficiency, which focuses on local and national food security through investments in small-scale food producers, their value chains and climate-robust development.

Read more about Norway’s ODA for Agriculture

By region

’SSA: Geographically, SSA receives the largest share of Norway’s bilateral ODA.

According to the MFA’s 2017 white paper on the Sustainable Development Goals, Norway focuses on bilateral cooperation with 16 countries, advancing a holistic and cross-sectoral approach to development in each. The paper outlines two categories of partners:

• Partners for long-term development cooperation: Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Tanzania, and Uganda; and
• Partners for stabilization and conflict prevention with a holistic and long-term perspective: Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, Palestine, Somalia, and South Sudan.

On August 19, 2024, the Norwegian government launched its new strategy for engagement on the African continent with the aim to strengthen political and economic cooperation through partnerships based on equality, mutual interests, knowledge, and understanding. The government outlined five specific areas of focus in the strategy:

• Multilateral and regional cooperation: Strengthen cooperation in multilateral forums, enhance African representation, and continue close collaboration with the AU;
• Security and peace efforts: Support African-led peace initiatives, integrate gender perspectives in decision-making, and bolster cooperation with the AU and UN on security;
• Democracy, human rights, and gender equality: Promote democracy, human rights, and gender equality through civil society engagement, justice reform, and educational access;
• Business, clean energy, and knowledge: Boost economic cooperation, promote Norwegian solutions, and support renewable energy development in African markets; and
• Climate, environment, food security, and health: Collaborate on climate action, sustainable food systems, and resilient health systems to address environmental and health challenges.

Budget

On October 7, 2024, the Norwegian government presented its state budget for 2025, which included an ODA budget of NOK52.9 billion ( US$5 billion).

This amount remains largely consistent with the 2024 allocation, representing 0.92% of Norway's GNI, below the country’s longstanding target of 1%. Despite this, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to increasing ODA in future years, with the goal of eventually reaching the 1% target.

In presenting the budget, Norway’s Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim highlighted the importance of the 2025 allocations, emphasizing that the government is providing a robust budget designed to address critical global challenges. Beyond targeting immediate needs like poverty reduction and development, the budget also aims to foster trust and strengthen systems capable of addressing long-term challenges.

Key focus areas:

The 2025 development budget places particular emphasis on humanitarian assistance, climate action, business development, multilateral institutions, debt relief and refugee-related expenses in Norway (which will increase by 8%). However, certain areas will see reductions, including:

• A 22% cut in support for refugees outside of Norway.
• A 6% reduction in funding for peace efforts.
• A 3.9% decrease in civil society funding.

Despite some cuts, several areas will receive increased funding:

• Development assistance to Palestine will increase by NOK280 million (US$26 million).
• Humanitarian assistance will rise by NOK300 million (US$27 million).
• Climate adaptation and food security funding will grow by NOK380 million (US$35 million).

Crisis areas:

Ukraine remains Norway's top priority in light of the ongoing conflict with Russia. The Nansen Program for Ukraine will see a significant increase in funding, with the budget rising from NOK75 billion ( US$7.8 billion) to NOK134.5 billion ( US$14 billion). The program's duration has also been extended from 2027-2030.

The budget allocated substantial humanitarian assistance to Gaza, addressing the severe needs resulting from the ongoing conflict. Similarly, additional resources are directed towards Sudan, where escalating hunger and humanitarian crises are pressing concerns.

Global health:

Norway’s 2025 budget emphasizes global health cooperation and preparedness, with a focus on enhancing the world’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats and antimicrobial resistance. Key initiatives include:

• Preventing infectious diseases and reducing child and maternal mortality.
• Strengthening SRHR.
• Expanding UHC.
• Enhancing national healthcare systems, particularly in addressing climate-related health issues, such as the spread of infectious diseases. While the allocation for health in 2025 stands at NOK3.6 billion ( US$374 million), reflecting a NOK103 million ( US$11 million) decrease from 2024, this aligns with the government’s prioritization of other areas like humanitarian assistance and climate adaptation. Norway remains committed to long-term global health partnerships, including a reallocated contribution of NOK20 million ( US$2 million) to UNAIDS.

What are the sources of Norway's ODA budget?

The MFA contributes the largest share of ODA budget. In Norway's 2024 budget, the MFA allocated US$5 billion (92%) of Norwegian ODA, an 18% increase from the 2023 budget ( US$4.3 billion). Increasing amounts of the MFA's budget are being dedicated to bilateral cooperation, which saw an increase of 80% compared to 2023, largely due to the Nansen Program for Ukraine. The MFA's funding allocations cover:

• Thematic cooperation, which combines bilateral and multilateral funding to advance certain areas;
• Bilateral cooperation (structured by region); and
• Multilateral funding (outside of specific thematic cooperation).

Other ODA-disbursing ministries include the Ministry of Climate and Environment ( US$416 million, or 7.6% of total ODA), used mainly for Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative, and the Ministry of Finance (US$11 million, or 0.2% of total ODA). The Ministry of Climate and Environment saw a notable increase of 30% in the 2024 budget compared to the previous year following budget negotiations with the SV. The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development also disburses a small amount of ODA ( US$200,000), and the Ministry of Education and Research allocates approximately US$1.6 million in ODA, mainly for the administrative costs of Research Council of Norway related to the management of ODA-funded research programs.

In August 2023, the Norwegian government announced that Norad is to take on greater responsibility for the management of Norwegian development funding, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to receive a clearer responsibility for development policy formulation. Management of international development, which currently is under the MFA, is slated to be transferred to Norad beginning early 2024. The change will give Norad authority over the following budget items:

• Humanitarian assistance;
• Global security issues and disarmament;
• Human rights;
• A large portion of funding for the UN; and
• Funding for Europe, Central Asia, and Afghanistan.

What are the steps and timelines for the Norway's ODA budget approval?

The budget process runs over two years. Preparatory work starts about a year before the current fiscal year, and the ongoing budget may be amended in March, April, and in August. Norway's fiscal year corresponds to the calendar year.