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Policy

International development

Topic
Communities and third sector, Economy, International
Overview

International development means activities which aim to promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries. It is one of the most important ways that Scotland can be a good global citizen.  

Our International Development Fund (IDF), established in 2005, is forecast to rise from around £10 million in 2021 to £15 million by mid 2026.  

Actions

Our partner countries are Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan. We support their efforts to respond to global challenges and to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.  

We do this through the following actions: 

  • ensure that a principled and human rights-based approach is at the heart of how we work, including the design, implementation and evaluation of our programmes 

  • we launched the Climate Justice Fund (CJF) in 2012, and were the first nation to commit funds specifically to climate justice. We have committed to increase this fund to £36 million by mid 2026 

  • create new global health programmes to share our expertise and champion investment in alignment with partner country priorities, and to make faster progress on global sustainable health goals 

  • support inclusive education in our partner countries, with a focus on improving access to education for the most marginalised – particularly women, girls and learners with disabilities and additional support needs 

  • champion gender equality throughout our international development portfolio, as well as the creation of dedicated equality-focused programmes 

  • established a Global Renewables Centre (GRC), which shares knowledge and resources between Scotland, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia, enabling increased use of sustainable energy  

Background

Scotland’s International Strategy and Global Citizenship: Scotland's International Development Strategy explain how our international development work and responses to humanitarian emergencies are a key part of our contribution to the global community. 

We implement our international development programmes through a range of organisations, including civil society organisations and universities, some of them based in Scotland. We do not provide funding directly to partner country governments. 

We have a successful record of delivering internationally since the beginning of devolution in 1999 and through our overseas assistance programmes (international development, humanitarian and climate justice) since 2005.  

You can find information on our previously funded initiatives through our older webpages in our archive and series of Contribution to International Development reports:

In line with our commitment to be accountable and transparent, you can also find information and about our more recent programmes in our series of Contribution to International Development reports (2017 to 2023) and our most recent report through the International Strategy annual report (2024 to 2025):

Information on Scottish Government Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on international development, humanitarian and climate justice funding up to and including 2024 to 2025 is available in the publications listed above. ODA spend for 2025 to 2026 onwards is now published through the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).

We also share information with the UK Government about how we work in our partner countries.  

We report our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend to the UK Government each year, and it is then included by the UKG within its overall ODA return to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and counted within the overall UK ODA towards its commitment to spend a set percentage of UK gross national income on ODA.

The UKG then publishes our total ODA spend each year within its Statistics on International Development: UK ODA spend and are available on the UKG website. See the most recent years’ data at:

In line with our commitment to be safe, ensuring that all our work has appropriate safeguarding policies and practices in place, safeguarding remains a key consideration for our ministers, and therefore our funding and our partners. Read more about this.

Contact

You can follow or engage with the International Development Team: 

  • phone on 0300 244 4000

  • post: International Development Team, Scottish Government, 2H North, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ 

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