Publish What You Fund launches 2026 Aid Transparency Index

Publish What You Fund has launched its 2026 Aid Transparency Index, providing a global assessment of the transparency of major aid and development organisations.

The independent Index assesses how effectively organisations make information about their development spending and activities publicly available, helping to strengthen accountability and support the use of development finance data.

2026 Index results

The African Development Bank's sovereign portfolio has topped the Aid Transparency Index for the third consecutive edition, maintaining its leading position following first-place rankings in 2022 and 2024.

The Bank has published data on its development financing and activities to the IATI Standard since 2013. A longstanding IATI member, the Bank has also held the Vice-Chair position on IATI's Governing Board since 2026.

This year's Index has assessed 34 organisations, including bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, UN agencies and foundations. Together, these organisations represent approximately two-thirds of spending published to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard in 2025.

Why transparency matters

The 2026 Index comes at a critical time for international development cooperation, with growing financing needs, constrained aid budgets and increasing scrutiny of how development resources are allocated and used.

Reliable, accessible and comparable development finance data is essential for strengthening accountability, supporting coordination and enabling governments, civil society and other stakeholders to make informed decisions.

The 2026 Index was launched on 4 November at an event in London, co-hosted by Publish What You Fund and the Center for Global Development, under the theme Do trust and transparency still matter?

The event brought together representatives from development organisations, partner-country governments and civil society to discuss the role of transparency in building trust, improving accountability and supporting effective development cooperation.

Explore the full results

The Aid Transparency Index has been published by Publish What You Fund since 2012 and remains an important independent assessment of transparency across major aid and development organisations.

Read the full 2026 Aid Transparency Index

For further information about the Index, please contact Publish What You Fund directly.