Development Partners Snapshot:
ITALY
COUNTRY CONTEXT
Development policy:
Development co-operation institutions:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) is responsible for development co-operation oversight, decision making, and co-ordination and political representation internationally in the broader context of Italy’s support of sustainable development. The Ministry of Economy and Finance is responsible, in co-ordination with the MAECI, for relations with multilateral development banks and funds and for debt relief operations.
KEY GOVERNMENT ENTITY ON DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION
ODA TRENDS
Italy provided USD 6.0 billion of ODA in 2021, representing 0.28% of GNI. This was a significant increase of 34.5% in real terms in volume and an increase in the share of GNI from 2020. Italy’s ODA rebounded in 2021 after a three-year decline. Italy’s Law 125 calls for international development co-operation appropriations to gradually adjust in line with European and international commitments. Italy is not on track to meet its international and EU commitments to achieve a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio by 2030. Within Italy’s ODA portfolio in 2020, 91.8% was provided in the form of grants and 8.2% in the form of non-grants.
In 2021, Italy ranked 18th among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries when ODA is taken as a share of GNI (preliminary figures). Italy stands out for the high share of its bilateral ODA commitments in support of the environment and climate (58.2% and 43.7% respectively), including a high share allocated to the environment as a principal objective. Italy also provides a relatively high share of bilateral ODA as core contributions to civil society organisations (CSOs), equal to 8.8% in 2020. The share of Italy’s ODA allocated to multilateral organisations continued to increase in 2020, reaching over two-thirds of gross ODA.
EFFECTIVENESS PERFORMANCE
Global Partnership monitoring trend
Click here for a snapshot of Italy's results from the two most recent Global Partnership monitoring rounds (2018 and 2016). The Global Partnership monitoring process and framework have been revised, and the new round will take place from 2023 to 2026. This profile will be updated periodically as new data is generated by the monitoring exercise.
Use of monitoring results
- Data from the last monitoring round (2018) was used in Italy’s 2019 peer review
DAC Performance and Trends - 2019 GPEDC Progress Report
LEARN MORE
The 2019 OECD-DAC peer review highlighted Italy’s strong field presence in fragile contexts and an emphasis on gender and disability. The review noted that Italy could define more comprehensive country strategies for its priority countries, ensuring better predictability, and it is still working on an approach that builds on results and evidence. The effective delivery of Italy’s development programme also requires further investments in workforce planning, some of which are underway. Italy’s next mid-term review will take place in 2022.
