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UK aid packages: Which nations receive most cash from Britain?

With financial assistance to India set to completely halt by 2015, Yahoo! News UK looks at the countries which receive most British aid, and what they do with the money.

The UK government made its decision to pull its £280m aid package to India as the country 'no longer needs or wants the aid'.

India's own finance minister acknowledged that the nation's place in the world has changed, describing the UK's annual handout as "a peanut in our total development expenditure".

The Department for International Development (DfID) announced that the money will instead be spread across poorer nations.

With financial assistance to India set to completely halt by 2015, Yahoo! News UK looks at the countries which receive most British aid, and what they do with the money.

We've used data from the DfID, along with statistics showing how the amounts will change in the next three years.


INDIA

Many have claimed India does not need the cash as it has its own space programme and spends a reported £70 billion a year tackling poverty.

The £280m from the UK is also a tiny amount relative to the country's spending.

The amount is less than 0.03% of India's national income, and less than 2% of what its government spends on rural employment and food subsidy programmes.

Reports claim that India's economy is growing at a rate of eight per cent a year.

Andrew Mitchell, then UK Secretary for International Development, said last year that India is "roaring out of poverty", and is now the 11th biggest economy in the world.

UK aid 2010/11: £274m
UK aid in 2014/15: £280m
& change: +2.19%
Total aid 2010-2015: £1.12bn


ETHIOPIA

The UK will send an average of £331 to Ethiopia every year until 2015.

The Department for International Development say although the country has 'experienced impressive growth and development in recent years...its growing population remains poor and vulnerable'.

The DfID say the aid to Ethiopia will help 'meet the needs of the very poorest and support proven results-driven programmes that will bring healthcare, education and water to millions of people'.

The main beneficiaries in the country will be health, emergency response, and education.

UK aid 2010/11: £241m
UK aid in 2014/15: £390m
& change: +61.83
Total aid 2010-2015: £1.325bn


PAKISTAN



In Pakistan, the DfID say some 60 million (one in three) live in poverty, while half of all adults and one in three women are illiterate.

The troubled country has also had to deal with repeated crises, including devastating floods in 2010 and 2011.

The DfID say UK aid to the impoverished country will help support four million children in school, train 45,000 teachers, and build 20,000 new classrooms.

There have been accusations, however, that taxpayer-funded aid is fueling widespread corruption in Pakistan's government.

Andrew Mitchell said last year Pakistan's aid package from the UK could double - but on the condition of political and financial reform.

UK aid 2010/11: £215m
UK aid in 2014/15: £446m
& change: +107.44
Total aid 2010-2015: £1.392bn


BANGLADESH

The South Asian country, which has had to deal with an increasingly urbanised population and natural disasters in recent years, is described as 'one of the poorest states in the world'.

The DfID also say it is 'among the most fragile - both physically and politically'.

The average annual aid package of £250m will reportedly be prioritised on better schools, encouraging private sector investment, and ensuring the government is capable of delivering key services.

UK aid 2010/11: £157m
UK aid in 2014/15: £300m
& change: +91.08
Total aid 2010-2015: £1bn


NIGERIA

More than 100million people in Nigeria live on less than £1 a day.

The government say its aid package to the African nation will also 'hugely benefit UK trade, energy and security interests, and help reduce crime and illegal migration'.

The money sent by the UK to Nigeria will increase by 116% between 2010 and 2015 - the biggest increase of any country in the top 10.

UK aid 2010/11: £141m
UK aid in 2014/15: £305m
& change: +116.31
Total aid 2010-2015: £1bn


AFRICA REGIONAL

The DfID say that life expectancy for those who live in sub-Saharan Africa is around 30 years less than for people in Europe.

The government are giving an average of £203m every year to the region to 'drive wealth creation, tackle climate change, and improve governance and security'.

UK aid 2010/11: £150m
UK aid in 2014/15: £220m
& change: +2.19%
Total aid 2010-2015: £813m


AFGHANISTAN

The government say Afghanistan is its 'top foreign policy priority', and it will receive a total of £710m in aid in five years.

It is hoped the aid will help the country 'address the route causes of instability and violence', as 'a stable and more prosperous Afghanistan has important benefits for the UK’s national security'.

However, campaigners have warned that up to 10 per cent of Afghan aid could end up in the hands of Taliban insurgents and corrupt officials.

Of the annual £178m which goes to Afghanistan, around 16 per cent goes to Helmand Province, where British troops operate.

UK aid 2010/11: £178m
UK aid in 2014/15: £178m
& change: -
Total aid 2010-2015: £710m


TANZANIA

The eastern African nation is seen as politically stable and has seen solid recent economic growth, but remains a country where income poverty is still rife.

Although 90% of children go to primary school, one in three people in Tanzania live on less than £7 a month.

Large parts of the UK's average annual £161m aid package will be directed to government, civil society and education.

UK aid 2010/11: £150m
UK aid in 2014/15: £168m
& change: +12.00
Total aid 2010-2015: £643m


DRC

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is said to be one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman, and is among the poorest states on Earth.

The DfID say their aid package will focus on 'delivering more for poor people – promoting economic growth and wealth creation and helping build peace, stability and democracy'.

The government want to increase the number of girls going to school, improve democracy and basic health services, among other priorities.

UK aid 2010/11: £133m
UK aid in 2014/15: £258m
& change: +93.98
Total aid 2010-2015: £790m


SUDAN

The country which receives the tenth highest amount of UK aid has gone through huge political upheaval in recent years.

In July, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan following a referendum in January 2011.

A legacy of poverty, inequality and insecurity still remains, however, with many people unable to access basic services like clean water, health, and education.

DfID data states that the country will receive a total £560m in aid over five years.

UK aid 2010/11: £132m
UK aid in 2014/15: £140m
& change: +6.06
Total aid 2010-2015: £560m