International Migrants Day, celebrated on 18 December, is an opportunity to recall that migrants contribute not only to economic growth but also to the GDP of the countries where they work. Their remittances to their countries of origin also “make a significant contribution to development”, as underlined by an International Organization for Migration (IOM) expert during the SDG Forum organized in Brussels last November.
IOM has made a specific study on the situation in Belgium, revealing that 7 billion USD in remittances were sent in 2022, less than 1% of global remittances. According to Statistics Belgium (STATBEL), the number of migrants residing in Belgium was approximately 2.1 million in 2022.
When including second-generation migrants, this figure rises to almost 4 million, accounting for 34.5% of Belgium’s total population in 2022. This particular demographic situation has motivated the IOM’s study focusing on Belgium.
Morocco, Romania and Türkiye among the top receiving countries of Belgium’s migrant remittances
According to IOM, remittances are personal monetary transfers, across borders or within the same country, made by migrants to individuals or communities with whom they have links. These transfers happen through various means, including Western Union, MoneyGram, or mobile operators.
The survey published by IOM’s office in Belgium and Luxembourg shows that the outflow of remittances from Belgium has grown over the past two decades, reaching over 7 billion USD in 2022 – around 1.2% of Belgium’s GDP – against 1,6 billion USD in 2002.
Among the top ten recipient countries, Morocco leads with 494 million USD, followed by Romania (396 million), Türkiye with (376 million), Poland (298), Bulgaria (147), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (145), Algeria (65), China (61), India (59) and Brazil (51).
Morocco, Romania, and Türkiye have relatively more significant diasporas residing in Belgium, with 233,334 Moroccan, 109,176 Romanian, and 103,019 Turkish nationals in 2022, according to STATBEL.
Remittances are helping with health, education and everyday expenses
The in-depth analysis done by IOM in Belgium shows that two-thirds of remitters earn less than €2,500 monthly. In total, 41% of the remittances happen monthly with a majority transferring up to 250 euros (EUR) by transaction.
According to IOM’s office in Belgium and Luxembourg, around 70% of interviewed remitters send money for general household needs and half of them for health needs. Around 40% of the money is sent for education, while less than 10% spend it on business investments.
The survey concludes that “remittances serve as an essential lifeline, providing crucial financial support to family members of migrants in the remittance recipient countries”.
Remittances globally are twice as high as FDI
Globally, remittances to low and middle-income countries have increased in recent years, from 128 billion USD in 2000 to 656 billion in 2023. Remittances in 2023 are almost twice as high as the global foreign direct investment (FDI), 382 billion USD, and roughly three times as high as the official development aid (ODA) recorded in that year, 256 billion USD.
It remains challenging to capture unrecorded flows through both formal and informal channels. Given the overall state of remittances and the available data, it is likely that the global remittances are larger than current estimates suggest.
India, Mexico and China are among the top recipient countries
The top ten recipient countries for remittances in 2023 are India, with an estimated inflow of 110 billion USD, followed by Mexico (66 billion USD), and China (50 billion USD).
Top 10 recipient countries in 2023 | Total amount (billion USD)
India | 110
Mexico | 66
China | 50
Philippines | 39
Pakistan | 27
Bangladesh | 22
Guatemala | 20
Nigeria | 20
The Arab Republic of Egypt | 20
Ukraine | 15
In 2023, the two regions, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa, received 55 and 54 billion USD, respectively. In terms of share of GDP, the remittances show that some countries are relying heavily on this inflow of money: they reach 31% of Lebanon’s GDP and 23% of The Gambia’s GDP, for instance.
Europe remains an essential recipient of remittances outside the European Union. Ukraine and Serbia were the main recipient countries with 15 and 5.8 billion USD respectively in 2023. Remittances reached 17.6% of Kosovo’s GDP, 13.8% of Georgia’s GDP, and 8.5% in Ukraine in 2023.
Although remittances are not increasing steadily and are impacted by the global economic crises, the growth rate of remittance flows to low and middle-income countries is expected to recover to 2.3% in 2024 and 2.8% in 2025, reaching 690 billion USD in 2025.
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Publish date : 2024-12-18 06:04:00
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