RICH countries in the OECD's Development Assistance Committee gave $119.8 billion in foreign aid last year, according to preliminary estimates released on Monday March 30th. This is over 10% more than in 2007 and is the highest amount ever given. The 22 countries in the DAC devoted an average of 0.47% of GDP to aid, up from 0.45% in 2007, though this is still considerably below the United Nations target of 0.7%. Despite the plight of the global economy, the OECD expects that aid will continue to grow, reaching $145.1 billion (in 2008 terms) in 2010.

AFP