The pledges made in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2002, for instance, are for aid flows to increase to $86 billion by 2006, the largest rise in the DAC’s 43-year history. Italy, already the world's seventh largest donor, has reaffirmed its commitment to double its aid in a recent DAC review. According to simulations published in the latest DAC Journal, total aid from its 22 member countries could rise by 27% in real terms. The US, which is the world’s largest donor by value, will increase its aid by 32%, or $5.1 billion in real terms, while the combined EU total will rise by 31%, or $11.5 billion. The simulations for 2006 show large percentage increases from Austria, Greece and Portugal, with the lowest increases coming from the Japanese (7%), Danes and Swiss (5% each), and the Dutch (4%). But whereas the Danes and Dutch already figure among the five DAC countries to surpass the UN recommended target for aid of 0.7% of gross national income (GNI), the Swiss ratio will hold steady, at 0.38% of GNI and the Japanese ratio will grow from 0.20% to 0.22% of GNI. Meanwhile, the UK and Spain have announced their intention to reach the 0.7% target, so bringing to 11 the number of DAC member countries to have either met it or announced a date by which to meet it. If these and earlier commitments are maintained, they would lift total ODA to over $100 billion by 2010. The DAC’s member countries account for over 90% of global bilateral ODA.© OECD Observer No. 244, November 2004