DUBAI: Recording $80 billion in money sent home in 2018, India has cemented its position as the world’s top recipient of remittance.
The South Asian country, which is also one of the world’s top exporters of labor, recorded a 22.5 percent jump from last year’s figure, according to the latest World Bank report.
China came in second with $67 billion, followed by Mexico and the Philippines with $34 billion each, and Egypt with $26 billion.
Other South Asian countries also recorded improvements in remittances such as Bangladesh and Pakistan — 17.9 percent and 6.2 percent in 2018 respectively.
The World Bank Migration and Development Brief accords the increase to “stronger economic conditions in advanced economies,” as well as healthy outflows from some GCC countries like the UAE, which reported a 13 percent growth in outflows for the first half of 2018.
The UAE is one of India’s major source of remittances, where around three million Indian expats are based — the largest among the country’s foreign national communities.
According to a report by the Reserve Bank of India, 26.9 percent of total remittances to the country came from the UAE, followed by the US at 22.9 percent and Saudi Arabia at 11.6 percent.
India has been consistent in its remittance growth rate for the past three years — from $62.7 billion in 2016 to $65.3 billion in 2017, Khaleej Times reported.
