Study the figure below and suggest why some countries provide more development aid than others
(6 marks)
- The answer needs to make direct reference to the information shown in the figure.
- Note that there are two types of data shown
- Total development aid for each country ($ billions)
- Development aid as a percentage of GDP
- Reasons should be offered for variations in both
- There is no need to discuss every country
Answer
A possible reason why some countries provide more development aid than others is simply that some economies are larger than others. For example, 6 of the seven countries are part of the G7 and are classed as world superpowers; this will probably mean they have larger economies and will be able to donate more. Sweden is not part of the G7 or classed as one of the top 10 world superpowers, which could be a reason why it donates approximately 4 times less than Germany.
The amount donated as a percentage of total GDP is more useful data as it shows that some countries like Sweden (1%) and the UK (0.7%) are more generous than some of the bigger economies like the USA (0.2%). This could be due to different ruling parties getting into power and making cuts to the foreign budget. For example, Donald Trump preferred to spend the money within the USA and less on helping other countries.
Finally, Sweden and the UK have increased their aid spending to at least 0.7% of GDP; this is based on the UN’s target from the 1970s. The UN asked developed countries to voluntarily commit 0.7% of their GDP to development aid. The majority of countries have failed to meet this target, maybe because some countries could disagree with the percentage and others might believe the money should be spent on issues at home.