Indians Abroad Sent Home $62.7 Billion, More Than Any Other Country, Last Year

Indians working abroad sent more money back to India than any other country, according to a recent United Nations report. India received remittances to the tune of $62.7 billion last year, surpassing China.

‘One Family at a Time’, a study conducted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), reports that globally 200 million migrants sent home $445 billion in 2016. Remittances have grown at 4.2 per cent annually, growing from $296 billion in 2007 to $445 in 2016. This is the first ever study conducted of migration and remittance flows over the last decade.

India was the top receiving county with $62.7 billion, followed by China ($61 billion), the Philippines ($30 billion) and Pakistan ($20 billion). In 2007, China topped the list with $38.4 billion and India was a close second with $37.2 billion.

Remittances received in Asia and the Pacific have increased by 87 per cent, reaching $224 billion, while migration from the region remained low, at 33 per cent. The money sent back home by migrants have gone up by 51 per cent in developing nations, while migration has been only 28 per cent, thus leading to a better quality of life.

Currently, around 200 million migrant workers support 800 million family members globally. In 2017, it is expected that one in seven persons globally will be involved in either sending or receiving more than $450 billion in remittances, as per the report.