The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (English: German Development Cooperation (GIZ)), often simply shortened to GIZ, is the main German development agency. It is headquartered in Bonn and Eschborn and provides services in the field of international development cooperation and international education work. The organization's self-declared goal is to deliver effective solutions that offer people better prospects and sustainably improve their living conditions.
According to the OECD, Germany’s total ODA (USD 35 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022 due to an increase in in-donor refugee costs and increased contributions to international organisations. It represented 0.83% of gross national income (GNI).
GIZ's main commissioning party is Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Other commissioners include European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector, and governments of other countries. In its projects GIZ works with partners in national governments, actors from the private sector, civil society and research institutions. Additionally, in cooperation with the German Federal Employment Agency, GIZ operates the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM), an agency specialized on international cooperation activities related to global labor mobility.
GIZ was established on 1 January 2011, through the merger of three German international development organizations: the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), and Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung (InWEnt). The merger was overseen by Dirk Niebel, federal development minister from 2009 to 2013. His predecessor had previously tried and failed to merge the DED with the KfW. GIZ is one of the world's largest development agencies, with a business volume in excess of €3.1 billion in 2019 as well as 22,199 employees spread over more than 120 countries.