The Top Remittance-Receiving Countries in 2024

According to the World Bank, India hit a record-breaking remittance number in 2022. Thanks to migrant workers abroad, it received roughly $100 billion that year. In fact, remittance was so large that it made up 3% of the country’s entire GDP that year. This is a 12% increase compared to the $89.4 billion in remittances generated in 2021.

It should also be noted that most remittances to India in 2022 came from the United States, replacing the United Arab Emirates as the primary source.

What made this amount of money possible, and what led to the change from the UAE to the US as the main source of remittances, is the shift in the actual work non-resident Indians are doing abroad.

Indian workers are slowly taking on more and more high-skilled labor, mostly in IT. Furthermore, they are moving more towards high-income countries, like the US or the UK. Both of these factors lead to a much higher income than simple manual labor would generate.

Remittance statistics show that China generated the third largest remittance revenue in 2022, with $51 billion, falling just behind India’s $100 billion and Mexico’s $60 billion.

Indeed, China’s remittance inflow seems to be fluctuating. In 2012, it had $57.99 billion in remittance, rising to its peak in 2019 with a substantial $70.3 billion, dropping to $53 billion in 2021, and then dropping more to $51 billion in 2022.

One of the reasons behind this drop is the significant restrictions that have been put upon migrant workers due to the Covid Pandemic.

China stands out in this regard because of the many government-backed projects its migrant workers do abroad. These center on building energy and infrastructure megaprojects all across the globe, mostly under questionable working conditions.

The Philippines saw substantial growth in their remittance numbers in 2022. In fact, it is the fourth-highest country when it comes to this type of revenue, reaching $38 billion. In comparison, the country had $34.88 in remittances for the entirety of 2021, a 5.1% increase compared to 2020.

In November alone, the Philippines received $2.93 billion, representing a 5.8% increase compared to November 2021.

The Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, reports that the core remittance sources during 2022 included Qatar, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the US.

It should be noted that while this type of revenue in the Philippines is not as high as some of the other top global remittances , like India’s $100 billion, it is a very substantial source of money for the country. Namely, the aforementioned 2021 $34.88 billion represented 8.9% of the country’s gross domestic product.

In 2022, Mexico overtook China regarding remittance, with its citizens sending home $60 billion. Now in second place, one of the core reasons behind its success (or rather, its citizens' success) is the dollar's strength. The US dollar is regaining its footing, which had a beneficial effect on remittance sent to Mexico since most of the country's expats live and work in the US.

Furthermore, the future outlook for remittance remains positive for the country, since the World Bank predicts an increase of 2.7% in remittances for 2023, with the fastest growth happening in Latin America and the Caribbean, at 4.7%.

Mexican citizens who work abroad to send money to their families usually work in the service-providing sector in the US. Luckily, the predicted 20% collapse of remittances caused by Covid turned out to be very brief, only affecting April of 2020, experiencing a robust comeback soon after.

On our list of remittances by country, Egypt was number five regarding total remittance revenue in 2022. Namely, the country’s expats generated $32.3 billion that year.

Furthermore, this is an estimated 2.5% increase when compared to 2021, when Egypt’s citizens generated $31.5 billion. The main factor behind this increase is the rising oil prices in Gulf countries, where many Egyptians go to work.

Looking back, 2021 was already an excellent year for remittances in the region. Remittances in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries grew by 7.6%, reaching $61 billion, much of it fueled by Egypt.

In fact, remittances make up 61% of inflows for the area and are a vital resource for developing countries in the MENA region, higher than foreign direct investment, fiscal development assistance, and portfolio equity and debt flows.

Over the past ten years, the Lebanese diaspora has generated an average of $7.15 billion every year for the country. This is especially important due to the difficulties Lebanon’s economy has faced in the last several years.

First, the economic crisis of late 2019 sent shockwaves through the country, as did the literal shockwaves caused by the Beirut port explosion that occurred in August 2020. Finally, both the Covid pandemic and the rising global food prices caused by the Ruso-Ukrainian war made the country heavily dependent on remittances.

In fact, in 2021, 52.8% of the country’s gross domestic product was generated by expats working abroad. A remittance report for 2022 by the World Bank estimates things are slightly better, with 38% of the country's GDP now hinging on remittances.

A core factor that allowed for the healthier rise of remittances was the option of sending money instantly and easily online, as well as the reopening of many sectors once Covid sanctions and rules lessened.

According to Remittance statistics from the World Bank, Pakistan had 31$ billion in remittances in 2021. However, according to the State Bank of Pakistan 2022, while still among the highest countries when it comes to remittance, the 2022/2023 fiscal year is not looking good.

In fact, Pakistanis working abroad generated only $2 billion in December, a decrease of 19% when compared to the $2.52 billion generated in December of 2021.

In November of 2022, the country had $2.1 billion, a 3% decline compared to the same period in the previous year. And finally, the first six months of the 2022/2023 fiscal year (July to December) saw an 11% decline compared to the first six months of fiscal 2021/2022.

According to Fahad Rauf, the Ismail Iqba Securities Head of Research, one factor behind this drop is Pakistanis sending money to their families through the black market instead of the interbank market, which provides a better rupee-dollar exchange rate.

The World Bank reports that Bangladesh is number seven among the top remittance-receiving countries globally, with $22.1 billion generated in 2021.

The primary sources of remittance for Bangladesh are Saudi Arabia, by a wide margin, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and the United States of America.

According to the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, there are around 13 million Bangladeshi living outside the country, making it the fourth Country in terms of the number of migrant workers.

Current remittance data shows that Vietnam had a total of $19 billion in remittances in 2022. It's interesting to note that Ho Chi Minh City received more than a third of this entire revenue, $6.8 billion.

There is also a 5% rise in remittances in the Southeast Asia region, and a further rise of 3.6 to 4.5% is expected as time goes on.

Roughly 5.3 million Vietnam citizens are spread out across the globe, with the US having the largest number of Vietnamese immigrants.

When it comes to global remittance dependence, Tonga is one of the highest. In fact, 80% of Tongan households supplement their income through foreign remittances. 30% of household consumption is covered by remittance, and in 2021, 44% of the country's GDP was supplemented by expat workers, to the value of $220 million.

Roughly 20% of Tongan expats live and work in Australia, 40% are in the US, and another 40% are in New Zealand. In total, an estimated 216,000 Tongangs live abroad.