Development Co-operation Profiles

Monaco

Introduction

Monaco’s international co-operation policy is a direct contribution to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its resources have been steadily increasing since its inception in 2003. Monaco’s development co-operation interventions are allocated exclusively in the form of grants, and their main objective is to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations of developing countries. Priority is given to human development in least developed countries (LDCs) and direct support to local stakeholders (aid localisation). Monaco’s total official development assistance (ODA) (USD 25.8 million, preliminary data) increased in 2023.

Find the methodological notes behind the profile here.

Policy

Monaco’s activities target 11 partner countries, including 7 LDCs in sub-Saharan Africa (Burkina Faso, Burundi, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal) and 4 middle-income countries (Lebanon, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia).

Activities focus on human development (health, food security, education); human rights; and sustainable development, including climate, biodiversity and oceans.

Bilateral ODA is allocated to operational projects, the programming of which is defined within the framework of three-year strategic plans. The 2022-24 plan is structured around four sectoral priorities: 1) access to health; 2) food security and nutrition; 3) education and child protection; and 4) access to decent work, including four flagships programmes: community health, school feeding, education of vulnerable girls, and women and youth entrepreneurship.

Multilateral ODA is composed of assessed contributions and voluntary contributions to the various organisations of the international system, such as the United Nations and its agencies, multilateral funds, and the Council of Europe.

ODA allocation overview

Monaco provided USD 25.8 million (preliminary data) of ODA in 2023 (USD 23.8 million in constant terms).1 This was an increase of 0.1% in real terms in volume. Total ODA on a grant-equivalent basis has the same value as net ODA under the cash-flow methodology used in the past, as Monaco provides only grants.

 

Note: Data on ODA volumes (figure above) are in constant 2022 prices. Data for 2023 are preliminary. See the methodological notes for further details.

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Monaco provided a higher share of its ODA bilaterally in 2022. Gross bilateral ODA was 89.4% of total ODA. Twenty-eight per cent of gross bilateral ODA was channelled through multilateral organisations (earmarked contributions). Monaco allocated 10.6% of total ODA as core contributions to multilateral organisations.

ODA to and through the multilateral system

In 2022, Monaco provided USD 8.4 million of gross ODA to the multilateral system, an increase of 4.8% in real terms from 2021. Of this, USD 2.5 million was core multilateral ODA, while USD 5.8 million were non-core contributions earmarked for a specific country, region, theme or purpose. Project-type funding earmarked for a specific theme and/or country accounted for 78.2% of Monaco’s non-core contributions and 21.8% was programmatic funding (to pooled funds and specific-purpose programmes and funds).

 

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Monaco’s contributions to multilateral organisations in 2022 were allocated to UN entities and other multilateral organisations, such as the Green Climate Fund, the International Organisation of the Francophonie, the Global Fund and the Council of Europe.

 

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The UN system received 74.9% of Monaco’s multilateral contributions, of which USD 5.3 million (85.4%) was mostly through earmarked contributions. Out of a total volume of USD 6.3 million to the UN system, the top three UN recipients of Monaco’s support (core and earmarked contributions) were the WFP (USD 1.3 million), the WHO (USD 1.3 million) and UNHCR (USD 1.2 million).

 

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See the section on Geographic, sectoral and thematic focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system. Learn more about multilateral development finance.

Bilateral ODA

In 2022, Monaco’s bilateral spending increased compared to the previous year. It provided USD 21.3 million of gross bilateral ODA (which includes earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations). This represented an increase of 6.8% in real terms from 2021.

In 2022, country programmable aid was 63.9% of Monaco’s gross bilateral ODA, compared to a non-DAC country average of 47%.

 

Note: NGO: non-governmental organisation.

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In 2022, Monaco channelled their bilateral ODA mainly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), multilateral organisations and the public sector.

 

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Civil society organisations

In 2022, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 11.2 million of gross bilateral ODA, of which 29% was directed for developing country-based CSOs. Sixty-four per cent was channelled through CSOs in Monaco and other donor countries. Overall, 3.8% of gross bilateral ODA was allocated to CSOs as core contributions and 44.3% of Monaco’s gross bilateral ODA was channelled through CSOs to implement projects initiated by the donor (earmarked funding). From 2021 to 2022, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs increased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 44.6% to 48%. In 2022, Monaco’s share to developing country-based CSOs increased compared to 2021 (from 25.5% in 2021 to 29% in 2022). Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.

 

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Geographic, sectoral and thematic focus of ODA

In 2022, Monaco’s bilateral ODA was primarily focused on Africa. USD 13.8 million was allocated to Africa and USD 1.4 million to the Middle East, accounting respectively for 64.8% and 6.4% of gross bilateral ODA. USD 229 thousand was allocated to ODA-eligible countries in Europe (of which 96.3% was allocated to Ukraine).

Bilateral ODA by recipient country

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In 2022, 57.2% of gross bilateral ODA went to Monaco’s top 10 recipients. Nine of the top 10 recipients are in Africa. The share of gross bilateral ODA not allocated by country was 37.3%, of which 1.8% consisted of expenditures for processing and hosting refugees in donor countries.

 

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Monaco allocated the highest share of gross bilateral ODA (44.3%) to LDCs in gross bilateral ODA to land-locked developing countries in 2022, equal to USD 4.8 million.

 

Note: LDC: least developed country; LIC: low-income country; LMIC: lower middle-income country; UMIC: upper middle-income country; MADCTs: more advanced developing countries and territories.

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Fragile contexts

Support to fragile contexts reached USD 8.5 million in 2022, representing 40% of Monaco’s gross bilateral ODA. Five per cent of this ODA was provided in the form of humanitarian assistance, decreasing from 6.2% in 2021, while 9.5% was allocated to peace, increasing from 6.9% in 2021. Learn more about support to fragile contexts on the States of Fragility platform.

 

Note: HDP: humanitarian-development-peace. The chart represents only gross bilateral official development assistance that is allocated by country.

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Sectors

In 2022, more than half of Monaco’s bilateral ODA was allocated to social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 57.8% of bilateral ODA commitments (USD 12.3 million) with a strong focus on support to health & population (USD 5.2 million) and education (USD 2.8 million). Humanitarian assistance amounted to USD 1.8 million (8.2% of bilateral ODA).

 

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ODA for COVID-19

In 2022, Monaco disbursed USD 158 thousand in ODA for the COVID-19 response, down from USD 952 thousand in 2021.

Gender equality

In the period 2021-22, Monaco committed 19.6% of its screened bilateral allocable aid to gender equality and women’s empowerment, as either a principal or significant objective). This is equal to USD 4.0 million of bilateral ODA in support of gender equality. Unpacking the gender equality data further:

• The share of screened bilateral allocable aid committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment as a principal objective was 6.1% in 2021-22.

• Monaco includes gender equality objectives in 8.5% of its ODA for humanitarian aid.

Learn more about Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: DAC Guidance for Development Partners and the DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation in Development Co-operation.

 

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Environment

In 2021-22, Monaco committed 27.3% of its total bilateral allocable aid (USD 5.2 million) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions. Unpacking the environmental data further:

• Seven per cent of screened bilateral allocable aid focused on environmental issues as a principal objective.

• Twenty-three per cent of total bilateral allocable aid (USD 4.3 million) focused on climate change overall. Monaco had a greater focus on adaptation (20.3%) than on mitigation (9.6%) in 2021-22.

• Eight per cent of screened bilateral allocable aid (USD 1.4 million) focused on biodiversity overall.

Learn more about the DAC Declaration on Aligning Development Co-operation with the Goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change [DAC/CHAIR(2021)1/FINAL].

 

Note: In this figure, the category climate includes climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation efforts.

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Other cross-cutting sectors and themes

In 2022, Monaco also committed USD 1.5 million (7.8% of its bilateral allocable aid) to promote aid for trade and improve developing countries’ trade performance and integration into the world economy in 2022.

Total official support for sustainable development

Total official support for sustainable development is an international statistical standard that monitors all official and officially supported resources for financing the SDGs in developing countries, as well as for addressing global challenges. It provides a broader measure of development finance with the objective of increasing transparency and accountability of all external support that developing countries receive. In 2022, activities reported by Monaco as TOSSD totalled USD 24.6 million, down from USD 25.7 million in 2021, and Monaco’s TOSSD activities in support of sustainable development mostly targeted SDG 17 “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development” and SDG 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. Activity-level data on TOSSD by recipient are available at: https://tossd.online.

Institutional set-up

Monaco’s policy on international co-operation is one of the components of the state’s public policies and is included in the annual budget. It is implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (12% of ODA) and mainly (88% of ODA) by its specialised service, the Directorate of International Cooperation, which oversees development co-operation. Monaco gives priority to civil society actors and is committed to localising its aid to local actors.

Additional resources

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation website: https://en.gouv.mc/Government-Institutions/The-Government/Ministry-of-Foreign-Affairs-and-Cooperation.

International Cooperation Office website: https://cooperation.gouv.mc/en.

Monaco has been reporting to the OECD since 2022 at activity level.

The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including the grant-equivalent methodology, core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, country programmable aid, channels of delivery, bilateral ODA unspecified/unallocated, bilateral allocable aid, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.

Note

← 1.  DAC members adopted the grant-equivalent methodology starting from their reporting of 2018 data as a more accurate way to count the donor effort in development loans. See the methodological notes for further details.