The following article presents a comprehensive overview of countries ranked by the amount of remittances they receive from abroad. Remittances, defined as monetary transfers made by migrants to their home countries, play a crucial role in global economies and the livelihoods of individuals and families. In some countries, remittances account for more than 30% of the total economic output.
Countries by remittances received and remittances received as a percent of GDP according to data by the World Bank. [1] [2]
Country | Remittances received (USD millions) | Remittances as % of GDP | Year |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 111,222 | 3.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 61,100 | 4.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 33,928 | 1.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 29,871 | 7.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 28,333 | 5.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 26,106 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 21,504 | 4.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 20,128 | 4.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 19,288 | 0.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 18,203 | 19.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 16,736 | 20.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 16,715 | 10.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 13,438 | 2.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 13,151 | 3.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 11,168 | 8.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 10,530 | 0.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 10,296 | 4.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 10,278 | 9.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 9,960 | 0.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 9,449 | 2.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 9,293 | 22.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 9,067 | 2.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 8,912 | 1.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 8,660 | 2.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 8,485 | 26.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 7,825 | 0.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 7,693 | 23.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 7,431 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 6,449 | 27.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 6,435 | 0.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 5,601 | 8.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 5,392 | 7.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 5,384 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 5,346 | 50.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 5,000 | 10.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,969 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,748 | 4.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,664 | 6.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,532 | 22.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,268 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,153 | 1.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,060 | 3.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 4,049 | 21.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,950 | 5.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,877 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,854 | 15.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,818 | 5.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,771 | 17.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,708 | 1.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,688 | 21.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,589 | 2.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,300 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,289 | 0.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,227 | 20.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,225 | 29.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,092 | 6.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 3,085 | 14.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,935 | 0.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,620 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,616 | 8.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,500 | 9.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,466 | 10.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,370 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,186 | 2.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,147 | 1.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,037 | 14.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,035 | 10.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 2,033 | 2.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,900 | 3.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,800 | 23.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,760 | 0.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,745 | 9.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,735 | 21.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,664 | 2.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,620 | 0.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,613 | 17.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,499 | 2.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,465 | 2.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,459 | 3.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,333 | 3.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,298 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,270 | 2.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,267 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,265 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,247 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,187 | 9.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,131 | 6.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 1,032 | 0.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 873 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 862 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 830 | 13.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 779 | 1.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 736 | 1.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 698 | 0.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 694 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 677 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 650 | 8.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 629 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 624 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 621 | 6.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 621 | 0.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 615 | 27.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 601 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 594 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 592 | 1.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 589 | 3.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 582 | 9.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 576 | 22.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 540 | 3.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 527 | 2.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 520 | 1.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 519 | 0.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 510 | 0.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 500 | 3.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 481 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 474 | 3.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 470 | 1.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 459 | 9.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 456 | 3.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 440 | 2.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 436 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 414 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 399 | 2.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 365 | 0.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 360 | 0.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 350 | 2.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 346 | 8.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 313 | 13.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 303 | 1.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 287 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 280 | 33.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 274 | 2.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 260 | 20.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 259 | 2.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 243 | 0.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 232 | 5.8 | 2022 |
![]() | 231 | 1.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 226 | 1.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 217 | 46.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 204 | 0.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 198 | 1.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 193 | 0.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 186 | 5.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 178 | 10.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 158 | 4.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 150 | 15.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 148 | 4.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 142 | 5.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 126 | 2.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 125 | 5.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 125 | 0.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 96 | 2.9 | 2022 |
![]() | 85 | 1.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 81 | 5.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 70 | 7.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 69 | 5.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 69 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 68 | 0.3 | 2022 |
![]() | 55 | 2.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 55 | 1.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 54 | 0.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 52 | 8.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 50 | 0.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 49 | 3.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 48 | 1.6 | 2022 |
![]() | 39 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 38 | 1.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 35 | 2.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 33 | 3.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 30 | 10.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 23 | 5.5 | 2022 |
![]() | 22 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 21 | 1.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 18 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 17 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 15 | 6.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 14 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 11 | 0.7 | 2022 |
![]() | 9 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 8 | 1.4 | 2022 |
![]() | 5 | 0.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 3 | 0.0 | 2022 |
![]() | 3 | 4.1 | 2022 |
![]() | 2 | 1.2 | 2022 |
![]() | 1 | 0.0 | 2021 |
World | 768,848 | 0.8 | 2022 |
The economy of Armenia grew by 12.6% in 2022, according to the country's Statistical Committee and the International Monetary Fund. Total output amounted to 8.5 trillion Armenian drams, or $19.5 billion. At the same time, Armenia's foreign trade turnover significantly accelerated in growth from 17.7% in 2021 to 68.6% in 2022. GDP contracted sharply in 2020 by 7.2%, mainly due to the COVID-19 recession and the war against Azerbaijan. In contrast it grew by 7.6 per cent in 2019, the largest recorded growth since 2007, while between 2012 and 2018 GDP grew 40.7%, and key banking indicators like assets and credit exposures almost doubled.
Haiti is a free market economy with low labor costs. A republic, it was a French colony before gaining independence in an uprising by its enslaved people. It faced embargoes and isolation after its independence as well as political crises punctuated by foreign interventions and devastating natural disasters. Haiti's estimated population in 2018 was 11,439,646. The Economist reported in 2010: "Long known as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has stumbled from one crisis to another since the Duvalier years."
The economy of Kyrgyzstan is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector. Cotton, tobacco, wool, and meat are the main agricultural products, although only tobacco and cotton are exported in any quantity. According to Healy Consultants, Kyrgyzstan's economy relies heavily on the strength of industrial exports, with plentiful reserves of gold, mercury and uranium. The economy also relies heavily on remittances from foreign workers. Following independence, Kyrgyzstan was progressive in carrying out market reforms, such as an improved regulatory system and land reform. In 1998, Kyrgyzstan was the first Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) country to be accepted into the World Trade Organization. Much of the government's stock in enterprises has been sold. Kyrgyzstan's economic performance has been hindered by widespread corruption, low foreign investment and general regional instability. Despite those issues, Kyrgyzstan is ranked 70th on the ease of doing business index.
The economy of Nicaragua is focused primarily on the agricultural sector. Nicaragua itself is the least developed country in Central America, and the second poorest in the Americas by nominal GDP. In recent years, under the administrations of Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguan economy has expanded somewhat, following the Great Recession, when the country's economy actually contracted by 1.5%, due to decreased export demand in the American and Central American markets, lower commodity prices for key agricultural exports, and low remittance growth. The economy saw 4.5% growth in 2010 thanks to a recovery in export demand and growth in its tourism industry. Nicaragua's economy continues to post growth, with preliminary indicators showing the Nicaraguan economy growing an additional 5% in 2011. Consumer Price inflation have also curtailed since 2008, when Nicaragua's inflation rate hovered at 19.82%. In 2009 and 2010, the country posted lower inflation rates, 3.68% and 5.45%, respectively. Remittances are a major source of income, equivalent to 15% of the country's GDP, which originate primarily from Costa Rica, the United States, and European Union member states. Approximately one million Nicaraguans contribute to the remittance sector of the economy.
The economy of Pakistan is categorized as a developing economy. It ranks as the 24th-largest based on GDP using purchasing power parity (PPP) and the 46th largest in terms of nominal GDP. With a population of 232 million people as of 2023, Pakistan’s position at per capita income ranks 161st by GDP (nominal) and 138th by GDP (PPP) according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The economy of the Philippines is an emerging market, and considered as a newly industrialized country in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2023, the Philippine economy is estimated to be at ₱24.27 trillion, making it the world's 34th largest by nominal GDP and 14th largest in Asia according to the International Monetary Fund.
The economy of Tajikistan is dependent upon agriculture and services. Since independence, Tajikistan has gradually followed the path of transition economy, reforming its economic policies. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminium, the economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. Tajikistan's economy also incorporates a massive black market, primarily focused on the drug trade with Afghanistan. Heroin trafficking in Tajikistan is estimated to be equivalent to 30-50% of national GDP as of 2012.
The economy of Albania went through a process of transition from a centralized economy to a market-based economy on the principles of the free market.
An economic migrant is someone who emigrates from one region to another, including crossing international borders, seeking an improved standard of living, because the conditions or job opportunities in the migrant's own region are insufficient. The United Nations uses the term migrant worker.
The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign residents, minus income earned in the domestic economy by nonresidents.
The economy of India has transitioned from a mixed planned economy to a mixed middle-income developing social market economy with notable public sector in strategic sectors. It is the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP); on a per capita income basis, India ranked 139th by GDP (nominal) and 127th by GDP (PPP). From independence in 1947 until 1991, successive governments followed Soviet model and promoted protectionist economic policies, with extensive Sovietization, state intervention, demand-side economics, natural resources, bureaucrat driven enterprises and economic regulation. This is characterised as dirigism, in the form of the Licence Raj. The end of the Cold War and an acute balance of payments crisis in 1991 led to the adoption of a broad economic liberalisation in India and indicative planning. Since the start of the 21st century, annual average GDP growth has been 6% to 7%. The economy of the Indian subcontinent was the largest in the world for most of recorded history up until the onset of colonialism in early 19th century.
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes with international aid as one of the largest financial inflows to developing countries. Workers' remittances are a significant part of international capital flows, especially with regard to labor-exporting countries.
The economy of Cape Verde is a service-oriented economy that is focused on commerce, trade, transport and public services. Cape Verde is a small archipelagic nation that lacks resources and has experienced severe droughts. Agriculture is made difficult by lack of rain and is restricted to only four islands for most of the year. Cape Verde's economy has been steadily growing since the late 1990s, and it is now officially considered a country of average development, being only the second African country to have achieved such transition, after Botswana in 1994. Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, which has led it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo and, in 1999, to the euro.
Remittances to India are money transfers from non-resident Indians (NRIs) employed outside the country to family, friends or relatives residing in India. India is the world's top receiver of remittances, claiming more than 12% of the world's remittances in 2015. Remittances to India stood at US$110 billion in 2022 and remittances from India to other countries totalled US$5.710 billion, for a net inflow of US$63.258 billion in 2017.
International money transfers made by migrant workers and immigrants sending a portion of their earnings to their families in their country of origin are known as remittances. Remittances are an important aspect of the global economy, totaling an estimated $601 billion (USD) for the year 2015. The United States is currently the largest source of international remittances in the world, sending a total of $148 billion in 2017. Mexico received the largest portion of these remittances, accounting for more than $30 billion USD. making the U.S.-Mexico remittance corridor one of the largest in the world. With the exception of the 2008 global financial crisis, remittances sent from the U.S. have been consistently climbing for the past half century. This major increase in remittances can be partially attributed to the larger population of immigrants and migrant workers, as well as to increasing globalization in the financial and money markets. China and India are also major recipients of U.S. remittances, and are the top two recipients of remittances globally.