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Remittances are a key part of the global economy, linking countries through financial support. The remittance statistics in this article will shed some light on the astonishing scale of these financial exchanges.
Read on to find out which countries are at the forefront of sending and receiving these funds, how these transfers are affecting their economies, and the significant impact of remittances and the people who receive them.
Remittance Statistics: The Highlights
The global remittance flow for 2023 was estimated at $860 billion.
$669 billion of the estimated global remittances in 2023 have gone to low and middle-income countries.
With an estimated remittance inflow of $125 billion in 2023, India is the top recipient of remittances in the world.
The USA received an estimated $7.223 billion in remittances in 2023.
Pakistan’s estimated $24 billion inflow of remittance represents 7% of the country’s GDP in 2023.
A total of $39.673 billion was remitted from the UAE to other countries worldwide in 2022.
Nepal received an estimated total of $11 billion in remittances in 2023.
The estimated flow of remittance received by Malaysia in 2023 is $1.750 billion.
Remittances from the USA, using fintech solutions are expected to reach a transaction value of $29.92 billion in 2024.
95% of people who remit from the US say they send money back home to support their friends or family.
Global Remittance Statistics
1. The US digital remittance market size is expected to grow to increase by over 300% by 2032
The US digital remittance market is estimated to reach around $13.50 billion by 2032, growing at a compound growth rate of 15.1% from 2023 to 2032.
2. The global remittance flow for 2023 was estimated at $860 billion.
According to the latest data, remittances sent out globally have increased by 3% compared to the total worldwide remittance flow of $836 billion in 2022.
The stats further reveal that the global remittance flow has been steadily increasing since the earliest data point in 2016, with the pandemic-ridden 2020 being the only exception.
Namely, $591 billion was remitted globally in 2016, $640 billion in 2017, $695 billion in 2018, and $727 billion in 2019, before the global remittances growth stopped in 2020, and the remittance flow dipped to $717 billion.
Since then, the trend has been upward again, and the remittance flow reached $792 billion in 2021, $836 billion in 2022, and $860 billion in 2023. Estimations show that the global remittance flow will continue growing and reach $887 billion in 2024.
3. $669 billion of the estimated global remittances in 2023 have gone to low and middle-income countries.
Expressed as a percentage, over 77% of the global remittances sent worldwide in 2023 were sent to countries with low and middle income.
Furthermore, the most recent World Bank remittance report shows that the remittances sent to these countries grew by 3.8% compared to 2022, which is a higher growth rate than the 3% exhibited by the total global remittance flow.
The region that received the largest flow of remittance this year was South Asia, with $189 billion, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, with $156 billion, and East Asia and the Pacific, with $133 billion. Even if we exclude the money remitted to China, the East Asia and Pacific inflow will drop to $83 billion and still be the third largest globally.
4. With an estimated remittance inflow of $125 billion in 2023, India is the top recipient of remittances in the world.
India is traditionally the world’s largest recipient of remittances, and this year was no different. The country’s inflow of $125 billion accounts for a huge chunk of 14.5% of the total global remittance flow.
Mexico is in distant second place, having received $67 billion, or a little over half of the remittances received by India. Furthermore, China received $50 billion in remittances, while the Philippines received $40 billion.
Egypt and Pakistan are also among the top remittance-receiving countries, having received $24 billion each. Bangladesh is just outside the top five with $23 billion, followed by Nigeria with $21 billion, Guatemala with $20 billion, and Uzbekistan with $16 billion.
Stats on How and Why People Transfer Money
5. The transaction value of digital remittances made with fintech solutions is expected to reach $151.3 billion in 2024.
Although it is already quite remarkable, the most recent projections reveal this transaction value will continue growing at a CAGR of 4.76% between 2024 and 2028, and reach a figure of $182.2 billion at the end of the four-year period.
The growth of fintech in the digital remittance market is also evident in the number of users who use these solutions. Just a few years ago, in 2017, 5.33 million users were sending money through fintech solutions. In 2023, the number of people who remit digitally through fintech solutions reached 14.39 million and is expected to reach 15.82 million by 2024.
The key players in the fintech segment of this market are Wise, with a 24% share, Revolut, with 16%, Remitly, with 12%, SNB Quickpay, with 9%, and Skrill and WorldRemit Money Transfer, with an equal share of 5%, as per the 2022 data.
6. Remittances from the USA, using fintech solutions are expected to reach a transaction value of $29.92 billion in 2024.
Remittance data reveals that the fintech segment of digital remittances will grow in the US as well but at a slower rate than globally. The transaction value of remittances made through fintech solutions is expected to increase at a 2.46% CAGR between 2024 and 2028 and reach $32.98 billion at the end of the period.
The number of people using fintech solutions to remit from the US is growing as well and is expected to reach 2.65 million in 2024. The data also reveals the demographics of these users and shows that the largest portion of them, 31.4% are people between 25 and 34.
Furthermore, fintech remittance method statistics from 2022 reveal that Remitly is the key player in the US part of this market, with a 30% share, followed by Wise, with 17%, Xoom Money Transfer, with 14%, Revolut, with 9%, and WorldRemit Money Transfer, with 8%.
Finally, the average transaction value per user remitting through a fintech solution from the USA in 2023 was $11,470, and it is expected to drop to $11,310 in 2024.
7. 95% of people who remit from the US say they send money back home to support their friends or family.
In a recent survey discussing the purpose of remittance, 1,000 immigrants in the US were asked why they send money home, and more than nine in ten of them selected a reason that involved their family or friends.
More precisely, 63% said they remit to provide ongoing support for their loved ones, while 52% said they only remit when their close ones need support. Another 36% said they send money for celebrations, and 28% said they support friends and family affected by world events.
As for those who don’t send money to their family and friends, 16% said they cover their own personal expenses in their home country, while 8% send money to humanitarian organizations outside the US.
Data on Remittances by Country
8. The USA received an estimated $7.223 billion in remittances in 2023.
Historical data shows that the inward remittance flow to the USA has dipped slightly in 2023 compared to the previous year. In 2022, the USA received the biggest inflow of remittances in the past eight years, totaling at $7.431 billion.
While a remarkable figure, it isn’t even 10% of how much money is sent as remittances from the USA to other countries worldwide. US remittance statistics reveal that the USA is consistently the biggest sender of remittances in the world, and in 2022, $81.636 billion were sent out of the country as remittances. The World Bank figures for 2023 are not yet available.
The latest available data reveals that Mexico receives the largest portion of the remittances sent from the USA, having received $52.595 billion in remittances from the US in 2021. Interestingly, Mexico was also the biggest sender of remittances to the USA that year, with $1.845 billion.
9. An estimated $1.656 billion was sent as remittances to Australia in 2023.
Australia remittance statistics reveal that the country’s remittance outflow heavily outweighs the inflow of remittances, year by year. According to the most recent available data, $6.546 billion were sent out as remittances from Australia to countries across the world.
The Australian remittance outflow was the largest in 2019, in the past 22 years, when it reached a peak of $7.438 billion.
India was the largest recipient of remittances sent out from Australia in 2021 (the latest available data point), with remittances to India totalling $3.908 billion that year. The same year, the biggest sender of remittances to Australia was the United Kingdom, with $235 million.
10. The $40 billion estimated remittances sent to the Philippines in 2023 are equal to 9.2% of the country’s GDP that year.
The Philippines is customarily one of the top five recipients of remittances globally, and the estimations reveal that the inward remittances to the country reached a new high in 2023.
According to the Philippine remittance statistics, the inflow of remittances received by the country has been steadily increasing in the past eight years, with 2020 being the only exception.
As for where most of the money is coming from, the most recent available data is from 2021, and it shows that the USA is the largest sender of remittances to the Philippines as well, with an outflow of $12.837 billion that year.
On the other hand, the total remittance outflow from the Philippines in 2022 was $298 million.
11. Pakistan’s estimated $24 billion inflow of remittance represents 7% of the country’s GDP in 2023.
Historical data suggests that inward Pakistan remittances have been consistently growing between 2015 and 2021 when they reached $31.312 billion. In the next two years since then, the total figure has been dropping to $29.871 billion in 2022 and $24 billion in 2023.
On the other hand, the outflow of remittances sent from Pakistan is more than 100 times smaller, totalling $208 million in 2022 (the most recent data point).
The biggest remittance inflows going to Pakistan are the money sent from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The World Bank’s latest report from 2021 reveals that $8.045 billion were remitted from Saudi Arabia, and another $5.988 billion were remitted from the UAE to Pakistan.
12. A total of $39.673 billion was remitted from the UAE to other countries worldwide in 2022.
While there are no estimates for the remittances sent to the UAE, a report from 2022 shows that the UAE was the second-largest sender of remittances that year, topped only by the USA.
UAE remittance statistics show that the country’s outflow has been growing at an amazing pace since the earliest data point in 2000 when it was $3.676 billion. By 2014, it had already reached $19.280 billion, before growing by more than 100% in a single year and reaching $40.702 billion in 2015.
The growth continued in the next three years and reached a peak of $46.085 billion in 2018, and it has been slowly declining since then.
The biggest receiver of the UAE’s outward remittance in 2021 was India, with $19.821 billion.
13. The estimated $125 billion of remittances sent to India in 2023 comprise 3.4% of the country’s GDP.
Although it has by far the largest inward remittance flow in the world, India is still a very large economy, and the effect of the remittances it receives isn’t as significant as it is for some other countries.
For example, Tajikistan received $5.7 billion in remittances the same year, but that figure represented almost half, or 48% of the country’s GDP.
On the other hand, the outward remittance from India totalled $10.089 billion in 2022. The most recent statistics show that the largest recipients of remittances from India in 2021 were Bangladesh, with $5.747 billion, and Nepal, with $1.583 billion.
14. Nepal received an estimated total of $11 billion in remittances in 2023.
This is the highest inward flow of remittances received by Nepal in the past eight years. As a matter of fact, the county’s inflow in 2023 was about 63.45% higher than in 2015, when it was $6.730 billion. What’s more, these $11 billion represent 26.6% of Nepal’s GDP.
In contrast, the Nepal remittance outflow is about 274 times smaller, totaling $40 million in 2022, as per the latest available data.
Statistics further reveal that the biggest portion of the money sent from workers abroad to Nepal is coming from three South Asian countries: Saudi Arabia, with $1.692 billion, Malaysia, with $1.685 billion, and India, with $1.583 billion.
15. The estimated flow of remittance received by Malaysia in 2023 is $1.750 billion.
The Malaysia remittance statistics reveal that the country sends out remittances much more than it receives.
The most recent data available about Malaysia’s remittance outflow is from 2022, and it shows that $9.068 billion was sent out of the country as remittances that year. This figure is equal to 2.2% of Malaysia’s GDP.
Moreover, this is not the largest remittance outflow in the country’s recent history. In 2019, the total remittance sent from Malaysia to the rest of the world was $11.398 billion.
As for the country that receives the biggest portions of money sent out as remittances from Malaysia, world remittance statistics show that Indonesia received $2.372 billion in 2021.
