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This note describes how UK official development assistance (overseas aid) is distributed. The UK spent £7.4bn on official development assistance in 2009. Around two-thirds of this was distributed bilaterally, and the remainder went to multilateral institutions. The Government has committed to increase aid as a proportion of national income to 0.7% by 2013. The proportion will be held constant at 0.56% during 2010-12, implying a sharp jump in expenditure of 32% between 2012 and 2013.