ODA declined significantly after the Cold War, dropping to 0.22% of developed countries’ combined GDP in 1997-2001, before rising again after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States and the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, the following year. Then, as developed-country governments imposed strict fiscal austerity in the wake of the global economic crisis, ODA fell again, to 0.31% of GDP in 2010-2011.
冷战后，ODA大幅缩水，1997—2001年间只占发达国家总GDP的0.22%。2001年9月11日美国遭遇恐怖袭击以及2002年墨西哥蒙特雷国际发展金融会议之后，ODA有所增加。接着，随着全球经济危机导致发达国家纷纷采取严厉财政紧缩，ODA再次回落，2010—2011年间只占GDP的0.31%。