“We share our good fortune with all humanity,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The UAE has been ranked as the world’s largest donor of official development aid, relative to its national income, for the fifth year in a row.

According to data recently published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UAE gave Dhs19.3 billion worth of development assistance in 2017, making up 1.31 per cent of its national income.

In second place behind the UAE was Sweden, which contributed 1.01 per cent of its national income, followed by Luxembourg, which contributed 1 per cent.

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The United Nations recommends economically-advanced countries spend at least 0.7 per cent of their gross national income on aid – which shows the UAE really has gone over and above.

H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, took to Twitter to celebrate the news.

“For the fifth year running, the OECD named the UAE as the world’s largest Official Development Aid donor relative to national income – giving Dhs19.3 billion to 147 countries in 2017,” he said.

“We share our good fortune with all humanity.”

2017 was officially the Year of Giving in the UAE. According to a government report, more than 275,000 volunteers dedicated 2.8 million hours to charitable work, and more than Dhs1.5 billion was donated to good causes by the private sector alone.

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