NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

By Alexandre Tanzi

The world’s 266 million migrant workers sent a record $466 billion to developing countries last year following two consecutive declines and the money bound for home this year is projected to increase to $485 billion, according to the World Bank.

“The overall recovery in remittances is better than we expected. It is driven by stronger growth in the European Union, the Russian Federation, and the United States,” the bank said in a statement. “The rebound in remittances, when valued in U.S. dollars, was helped by higher oil prices and a strengthening of the euro and ruble.”

The countries with the largest inflows in 2017 were India with $69 billion, China at $64 billion, the Philippines $33 billion and Mexico $31 billion.

Photo courtesy of AMISOM Public Information.