Portugal had the third largest decrease in foreign aid in 2014, following Spain and Japan.
Foreign aid from Portugal to developing countries fell to €387 million in 2014 from €451 million the previous year.
After the €636 million recorded for 2011, official overseas development assistance from Portugal has been falling and recorded the third largest drop last year among the 28 countries analysed.
The data was released today by the Development Assistance Committee, a multilateral body within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The largest dollar donors by volume were the United States (32 billion), United Kingdom (19 billion), Germany (16 billion), France (10 billion) and Japan (9 billion).
Last on the list are the Czech Republic (210 million) and Greece (250 million).
Portugal’s overseas aid reached a peak in 2004 when USD 1.27 billion was sent overseas. The lowest value was in 1980 when just UDS 100 million was transferred.
The fall in Portuguese aid in 2014 was mainly due to the reduction in 'loans to developing countries.'
This type of aid aims to promote economic development and welfare of the populations of developing countries.
The aid takes many forms, such as a project or programme aid, direct money transfers, debt relief, provision of goods and services, and contributions to non-governmental organisations or multilateral bodies.
Portugal, similar to many donor countries, is adept at offering aid for projects that tie in the recipients to the purchase of Portuguese materials and expertise.
