Cyprus increased its official development assistance (ODA) by 18% in real terms in 2023, reaching $11.7 million, according to the latest OECD Development Co-operation Profile. Despite this rise in absolute terms, ODA fell as a share of the country’s gross national income (GNI), dropping from 0.05% in 2022 to 0.04%—highlighting how Cyprus remains far from meeting its EU commitment of allocating 0.33% of GNI to development aid by 2030.

The report shows that 100% of Cyprus’s aid was delivered in the form of grants, with a strong emphasis on multilateral channels: 64.7% of total aid was core multilateral ODA and 35.3% bilateral, much of which was earmarked via multilateral organisations.

In 2023, more than half (67.5%) of Cyprus’s bilateral aid—$2.8 million—was dedicated to humanitarian emergencies. Aid to fragile or conflict-affected contexts reached $2.4 million, representing 57.7% of bilateral ODA. This marks a sharp increase from 2022, when only 9.1% of aid was allocated to humanitarian purposes.

Cyprus’s contributions to multilateral institutions also reflected this focus, with the UN system receiving 49.5% of the country’s multilateral aid. The top recipients included the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ($900,000), the UNRWA for Palestine refugees ($600,000), and the World Health Organization ($600,000).

The report also notes that Cyprus allocated just 0.01% of its GNI to Least Developed Countries (LDCs)—a far cry from the internationally recommended benchmark of 0.15–0.20%. Only 6.5% of gross bilateral ODA ($300,000) went to LDCs.

By region, most of Cyprus’s bilateral aid was directed to the Middle East (55.5%), with smaller portions to Africa (10.4%) and Europe (10.4%). Within Europe, about 36% of aid was directed toward Ukraine.

Meanwhile, civil society organisations received a total of $500,000, representing 12.3% of bilateral ODA. This includes both core contributions and project-based funding channeled through civil society organizations—an increase from 1.3% in 2022.

Development aid policy in Cyprus is overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with CyprusAid as the implementing body. The OECD notes that CyprusAid is undergoing an upgrade. 

Cyprus also reported $18.5 million in Total Official Support for Sustainable Development in 2023—down from $25.2 million in 2022. Most of this support targeted SDGs related to global partnerships, peace and institutions, and infrastructure.

Despite efforts to expand aid in fragile zones, Cyprus remains well below both EU and OECD development benchmarks. With only five years left to reach the 0.33% GNI target agreed at EU level, the report paints a picture of a country still struggling to scale up its contribution to global development.