- About
- Focus Areas
Focus Areas
Learn moreWorking towards global reproductive freedom, healthcare access, and education.
- Regional Hubs
- Commitment Makers
Commitment Makers
Learn moreCreating a future for women and girls with the freedom and ability to lead healthy lives.
- Data Hub
- Impact
- Knowledge Center
Impact
Empowering accessible rights-based, family planning.
Learn More
donor government funding for family planning in 2021
Donor governments account for about 33% of total funding to address family planning in low- and lower-middle-income countries (see Total Expenditures). To track their role, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has been collecting and analyzing donor government funding for family planning on an annual basis since the London Summit on Family Planning in 2012.
This year’s analysis assesses funding in 2021 as well as trends over time. It includes both bilateral funding and multilateral contributions to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and is based on analysis of data from the 30 donor government members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in 2021 that had reported official development assistance (ODA) to the DAC. Data were collected directly for 10 of these governments, which account for 99% of all bilateral donor government funding for family planning (data for the remaining donors were obtained from the OECD Credit Reporting System, or CRS).
Key findings are as follows:
Bileteral Funding
- Bilateral family planning funding from donor governments was essentially flat in 2021: US$1.39 billion compared with the 2020 level of US$1.41 billion (Figure 11)
- While the overall amount remained steady in 2021 , there were significant variations among several donors.
- More broadly, while bilateral funding from donor governments for family planning has fluctuated over the past decade, it has generally risen since the London Summit in 2012 . Funding in 2021was approximately US$200 million higher than in 2012 (US$1.19billion), though this was below the peak level reached over the period (US$1.52 billion in 2019 ).
- The U.S. continued to be the largest bilateral donor to family planning in 2021 , accounting for 42% (US$576.7million) of bilateral funding from governments (Figure 12). The Netherlands was the second-largest donor (US$190.5 million, or 14% ), followed by Sweden (US$180.4 million,13% ), the UK (US$157.8 million, 11%), and Canada (US$98.9 million, 7% ).
- Bilateral funding in 2021 from most donors does not seem to have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the ongoing economic pressures resulting from the pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine could have an impact on future year disbursements.
1 For purposes of this analysis, family planning bilateral funding represents amounts specifically designated by donor governments for family planning as defined by the OECD DAC (see Methodology Note), and includes standalone family planning projects, family planning–specific contributions to multilateral organizations (e.g., contributions to UNFPA Supplies), and, in some cases, projects that include family planning within broader reproductive health activities.
2 Some of the figures for previous years are different from the data reported last year due to updates after the 2021 report was published. Donor amounts do not exactly sum to total amounts due to rounding.
3 At the time of publication, data from France were not available. France’s prior year amount was used as a temporary estimate to calculate the overall donor government total in 2021.
4 UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), “Statistics on International Development: Provisional UK Aid Spend 2021,” April 2022.
Figure 11
DONOR GOVERNMENT BILATERAL DISBURSEMENTS FOR FAMILY PLANNING, 2012–2021 TOTAL
DONOR GOVERNMENT BILATERAL DISBURSEMENTS FOR FAMILY PLANNING, 2012–2021 TOTAL
Figure 12
DONOR GOVERNMENT BILATERAL DISBURSEMENTS FOR FAMILY PLANNING, 2012–2021 TOTAL
Note: figures based on Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of donor government funding for family planning
Donor Contributions to UNFPA
- In addition to bilateral funding for family planning—which may include non-core contributions to UNFPA for specific family planning programs, such as UNFPA Supplies—donors contribute to UNFPA’s general or core resources, which are meant to be used for both programmatic activities (family planning, population and development, HIV/AIDS, gender, and sexual and reproductive health and rights) and operational support.
- In 2021 , core contributions from profiled donor governments totaled US$405.3 million, similar to 2020 levels (US$411.7million).
- Seven of the 10 donors profiled (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) provided level funding to UNFPA in 2021 . Funding from Germany and the UK fell.5 The U.S., under the Biden Administration, resumed funding in 2021 after the Trump Administration had invoked the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, a provision of U.S. law, to withhold funding—both core and non-core contributions—from UNFPA for the prior four years.
- Sweden provided the largest core contribution to UNFPA in 2021(US$64.1 million), followed by Norway (US$54.3 million), Germany (US$47.8 million), and the Netherlands (US$40.5 million).
- In 2021 , UNFPA spent approximately US$488.7 million (45% of UNFPA’s total program expenses) on family planning activities. This includes US$278.8 million for activities specifically related to family planning (such as enabling environments for family planning, contraceptives and related supplies, provision of services, and family planning systems strengthening) andUS$209.9 million for activities with an impact on family planning results in other areas of work under UNFPA’s mandate.
Figure 12
DONOR GOVERNMENT BILATERAL DISBURSEMENTS FOR FAMILY PLANNING, 2012-2021* (IN CURRENT US$, MILLIONS)
Government Expenditure on Family Planning
| COUNTRY | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Australia | $43.2 | $39.5 | $26.6 | $12.4 | $24.9 | $25.6 | $22.2 | $24.7 | $23.9 | $49.0 |
| TOTAL | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 | $1,188.4 |
Methodological Note
For the U.S., funding represents final congressional appropriations (firm commitments that will be spent), rather than disbursements, which can fluctuate from year to year due to the unique nature of the U.S. budget process (unlike most other donors, U.S. foreign assistance funding may be disbursed over a multiyear period). All prior year amounts have been changed from disbursements to appropriations. This change in methodology does not alter the overall trend over time.
With some exceptions, the financial data presented in this analysis represent “disbursements,” which are defined as the actual release of funds to, or the purchase of goods or services for, a recipient. They were obtained through direct communication with donor governments, analysis of raw primary data, and the OECD CRS. UNFPA core contributions were obtained from Executive Board documents.
In some cases, it is difficult to disaggregate bilateral family planning funding from broader population, reproductive, and maternal health totals, and the two are sometimes represented as integrated totals. In addition, activities related to family planning that are funded in the context of other official development assistance sectors (e.g., education, civil society) have remained largely unidentified.
For purposes of this analysis, we worked closely with the largest donors to family planning to identify such cross-sectoral funding specifically related to family planning where possible (see Table 2 Notes). Going forward, efforts to track donor government support for family planning will be strengthened if such funding is identified within other activity categories by primary financial systems.
For data in the currency of the donor country, please contact the researchers.
For more information, analysis and reports:
For more information, analysis and reports:
We’re dedicated to advancing the rights of people everywhere to access reproductive health services safely & on their own terms.
Join our effort to build the future we want.
Get Involved
FP2030 | United Nations Foundation
1750 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006
FP2030 is a diverse, inclusive, and results-oriented partnership encompassing a range of stakeholders and experts with varying perspectives. As such, the views expressed and language used on our website do not reflect those of all members.
This website is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of FP2030 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
