Remittances rise

Personal remittances are of growing importance for low & middle income countries. They have surpassed foreign direct investment net inflows and are much higher than official development assistance. In 2022, personal remittances to low & middle income countries reached an estimated USD 614 billion, surpassing foreign direct investment at USD 522 billion for the first time in data available from the World Bank. The top recipients of personal remittances are India (USD 125 billion), Mexico (USD 67 billion), China (USD 50 billion) and the Philippines (USD 40 billion). Several smaller countries are highly dependent on personal remittances with Tajikistan and Nicaragua receiving 48% and 27% of their respective GDP in remittances. In recent years, there has been a significant rise in the number of methods people can use to send money back home as financial technology companies have innovated and in some cases made it much easier and cheaper.

Source: World Bank, July 2024.