Estonia's development funding grows by nearly 3%, Ukraine remains priority

Compared to 2024, Estonia's ODA, which includes all public sector activities supporting the socio-economic development of partner countries, grew by 2.9%, driven mainly by increased support to Ukraine and Moldova. 

Supporting Ukraine remains a priority for Estonia. In 2025, Estonia allocated €19.62 million to bilateral development cooperation and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, which is 30.8% more than the previous year. 

"Against the backdrop of declining global development funding, it is important for Estonia to set an example through stable development financing and continued support for Ukraine. Estonia and Europe must continue broad-based support for Ukraine, and the growth of Estonia's development funding demonstrates our goal of remaining a reliable partner," said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. 

In addition to funding projects in Ukraine, Estonia provided €1.98 million in development cooperation funding to Moldova and Armenia, Estonia’s partner countries in the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood. In Africa, Estonia contributed €1.38 million to development cooperation in Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and Botswana. 

Less than half of Estonia's development funding (42%) is channelled through bilateral cooperation, coordinated by the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV). In addition to managing Estonian funds, ESTDEV is also responsible for attracting external investment. In 2025, ESTDEV signed foreign contracts worth €25.6 million, enabling the expansion and increased impact of Estonia's projects in partner countries. The largest donors were Sweden, Norway, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Italy. 

"Partner countries are increasingly channelling their development cooperation funds through Estonia and ESTDEV, as we are able to act quickly and efficiently manage our projects, and we focus on areas where our companies and organisations offer strong added value, such as cybersecurity, education development and rule of law," said Andrea Kivi, ESTDEV’s executive director. 

Contributions to international organisations (including the European Union, the World Bank Group and the United Nations) accounted for nearly 58% of Estonia's ODA. This represents a 6.1% decrease compared to the previous year. 

Globally, development funding totalled €149.9 billion in 2025, a 23% decline compared to 2024. This marks a record annual drop and the second consecutive year of decline, bringing official development assistance back to 2015 levels. The OECD forecasts a further 5.8% decrease in 2026. Cuts in development funding are expected to affect the least developed countries the most. 

"Budgetary pressures on developing countries are increasing, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East poses a significant risk to global economic growth and food security," said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. "In this challenging environment, the significant decline in official development assistance underscores the need to maximise the impact of available resources and use them more effectively to unlock new sources of investment." 

Although Estonia's development funding has decreased compared to Estonia's gross national income in 2024 (0.2% vs. 0.19%), in absolute terms it still means that Estonia's development funding has increased over the year (77 million vs. 79.37 million).