South Korea's financial aid to developing countries showed a slight increase in 2016 from the previous year, the government said Tuesday citing an international report.

The Prime Minister's Secretariat said a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed South Korea's official development assistance reached $1.96 billion in 2016, up 2.6 percent from $1.91 billion in 2015.

South Korea ranked 16th among 29 OECD members in ODA, down two spots from 2015.

The report also showed that South Korea's ODA in 2016 accounted for 0.14 percent of its gross national income, the same as the previous year.

Of the total ODA in 2016, South Korea spent $1.54 billion on direct bilateral aid, and the rest on indirect aid through international organizations.

Some $980 million of the bilateral assistance was grant-type aid in 2016, an annual increase of 7.6 percent.

Among regions, South Korea provided $746 million in aid to Asian nations, followed by $414 million to African countries and $135 million to Latin American nations.

The government has earmarked 2.64 trillion won ($2.31 billion) for some 1,240 aid projects for its 2017 ODA budget. (Yonhap)