COVID-19 Has Squeezed Migrants’ Remittances to Their Families
By The Economist
FIVE YEARS ago the UN proclaimed June 16th the International Day of Family Remittances. Since then money sent home by migrant workers has only become more important. In 2019 remittances amounted to $554bn, beating all other forms of cross-border financial flows to poor countries (see chart). Some 200m expatriate workers worldwide help four times as many relatives meet basic needs, set up businesses or pay school fees. These flows, on average, make up 60% of recipients’ family income; in the eight largest receiving countries, they are the sole source of cash for about a fifth of households.
Photo courtesy of AMISOM Public Information.
Source: The Economist (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Tags
- migrants, remittances
