Migration and Development Brief 38

Recently on Jun 13, 2023, the World Bank has published the ‘Migration and Development Brief 38’ 2023 titled as –Remittances Remain Resilient but Are Slowing.

• As per report, remittance flows to low- and mimiddle-incomeountries (LMICs) are estimated to grow by 1.4% to $656 billion in 2023 as economic activity in remittance source countries is set to soften.

Key Highlights

• In 2022, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are estimated to have increased by 8 percent, reaching $647 billion (as per revised official data).
  
• The remittance growth rate is expected to moderate to 1.4 percent in 2023, resulting in total inflows of $656 billion.
  
• At global level, remittance flows are expected to reach $840 billion in 2023.

1. On a global scale, the remittances growth rate is projected to increase to 2.0 percent in 2024, increasing inflows by $18 billion.

• The top five recipient countries for remittances in 2022 were-India, which received a total of $111 billion in the year, followed by Mexico with inflows of $61 billion, then China ($51 billion), the Philippines ($38 billion), and Pakistan ($30 billion).
• Among economies where remittance inflows represent very large shares of gross domestic product (GDP) Tajikistan (51 percent of GDP), Tonga (44 percent), Lebanon (35 percent), Samoa (34 percent), and the Kyrgyz Republic (31 percent).
• Flows to India grew by 24% to reach $111 billion.

1. In India, the 8 percent increase in remittances in 2021 and the historic 24.4 percent rise in 2022 led remittances to peak at $111 billion, representing 63 percent of South Asia’s total remittance flows.
2. Almost 36% of India’s remittances are from the high-skilled and largely high-tech Indian migrants in three high-income destinations- the US, United Kingdom, and Singapore.

• Other top global recipients in the region were Pakistan (ranked 5th) and Bangladesh (7th) with remittance inflows in 2022 reaching $30 billion and $22 billion, respectively,
• Among the countries with remittance inflows that form a significant part of GDP, Nepal ranks 9th globally with remittances equal to 23% of GDP in 2022.