In 1969, Canada’s former prime minister, Lester Pearson, recommended that developed countries should spend 0.7% of their GDP on ODA by 1975, and that they should eventually increase the proportion to 1%. Although Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg have achieved the 0.7% target, the global average has actually declined, from 0.5% of GDP in 1960 to 0.3% today.
1969年，加拿大前首相皮尔逊建议，到1975年，发达国家应该将GDP的0.5%用于ODA，并将这一比例逐渐增加到1%。尽管挪威、瑞典、丹麦荷兰和卢森堡已经实现0.7%的目标，但就全球平均水平而言，这一比例从1960年的0.5%下降到了今天的0.3%。英国承诺拿出国民生总收入（GNI）的0.7%，但在援助谁的问题上争论不休。美国每年援助规模为300亿美元，绝对数量为世界之最，但占GNI的比重还不到0.25%。