International development

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

respond to a range of humanitarian emergencies, including Gaza, Ukraine and in our partner countries

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

support global solidarity and citizenship through a range of partnerships with civil society, in Scotland and in the Global South

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 have a successful record of delivering internationally since the beginning of devolution in 1999 – read the most recent progress report Contribution to international development 2021 to 2023, which we published in June 2024.

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

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 also share information with the UK Government about how we work in our partner countries, and are aligned with its approach to safeguarding.

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 also publishes our total ODA spend each year within its Statistics on International Development: UK ODA spend. The 2023 reports and provisional ODA report for 2024 are available:

Contact

You can follow or engage with the International Development Team:

on Twitter ⁠@scotgovID,

write to us at ceu@gov.scot

by phone on 0300 244 4000

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

Information

Actions

Background

Contact