Low Income Countries

HC Deb 15 January 2002 vol 378 cc145-6W

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of bilateral country programme expenditure is directed to low income developing countries in the latest year for which information is available; if she will list the countries so defined as low income; and if she will make a statement. [26686]

Clare Short

In 2000–01, 76 per cent. of DFID' s bilateral country programmes went to low income countries, compared to 65 per cent. in 1997–98. Excluding humanitarian assistance these figures were 78 per cent. and 67 per cent. Under internationally agreed definitions, low income countries are those with a GNP/GNI per capita in 1998 of below $760. There are currently 63 countries defined as low income and these are listed in "Statistics on International Development" (SID), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

We are committed to increasing further the concentration on low income countries. Our current public service agreement includes a target of 80 per cent. in 2002–03 for the share of the bilateral country programme, excluding humanitarian assistance, going to low income countries.