The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville on 30 June – 3 July 2025 offers a rare opportunity to renew the global financing framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to address the growing SDG financing gap.
Total financing for sustainable development grew from USD 4.31 trillion in 2015 to USD 5.24 trillion in 2022, an increase of 22%. However, annual financing needs to achieve the SDGs by 2030 surged by 36% over the same period, from USD 6.81 trillion in 2015 to 9.24 trillion in 2022, driven by climate challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and rising food and energy prices. If the SDG financing gap continues to grow at its 2015-2023 rate, it will reach USD 6.4 trillion by 2030.
The current USD 4.0 trillion SDG financing gap has significant implications, particularly for low-income countries (LICs). While the early 2000s saw LICs narrow the gap in their GDP per capita with high-income nations at a rate of 0.5% per year, the trend has reversed since 2015, with LICs falling further behind by 1.1% annually. Compounding this, rising debt burdens now put pressure on critical investments in health, education, and climate resilience. In 2024, 24 countries faced high risk of debt distress, up from 16 in 2015.
The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development is an opportunity to develop practical strategies to bridge the financing gap. Innovation in financial and policy tools is essential. This includes policy and incentive reforms in OECD countries to better align finance with the SDGs, improving the investment climate in developing countries, and a reform of multilateral development banks, which is underway.
Strengthening domestic resource mobilisation is a cornerstone of sustainable development financing. At 11% in 2022, the tax-to-GDP ratio in LICs remains below the 15% threshold that is necessary for providing key public services. Efforts to increase tax revenues, improve transparency, enhance compliance and build taxation capacity must continue, which the OECD will continue to support through our joint initiative with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Tax Inspectors Without Borders.
Official development assistance (ODA) remains an essential source of sustainable development financing. In 2023, ODA reached an all-time high of USD 223 billion in current prices or USD 194 billion in 2015 constant prices, up by 48% from USD 131 billion in 2015 for OECD Development Assistance Committee member countries. Further support is needed to strengthen core capacities and institutions in developing countries through country-programmable aid, budget support, technical assistance and capacity building. Equally important is the quality of financing: resources must align with the principles of development effectiveness to ensure they drive meaningful outcomes, supported by the Global Partnership on Effective Development Co-operation co-hosted by the OECD and UNDP.
Remittances have grown steadily since 2015, reaching USD 476 billion in 2023, but transfer costs remain high at 6.4%, more than double the SDG target of 3%, leading to USD 16 billion in losses for developing country households annually. Increased access to banking services, enhanced market competition and wider access to new payments technology can help reduce remittance costs. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to ODA-eligible countries reached USD 335 billion in 2022, similar to USD 338 billion in 2015.
Initiatives such as the joint OECD-African Union Commission African Virtual Investment Platform or the FDI Qualities Policy Toolkit can help leverage FDI and optimise its quality.
This special edition of the OECD Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development provides policymakers and negotiators with key evidence, data and analysis to inform their country positions ahead of the forthcoming 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, and ultimately to help optimise the impact of a new financial framework for development. The OECD will continue to support countries in scaling up sustainable development financing, including by providing sound data and analysis for the Conference, and beyond.
Mathias Cormann,
OECD Secretary-General