Tuesday 23 October 2007

Sending money home: Worldwide remittance flows to developing countries

150 million migrants worldwide sent more than US$300 billion to thier families in developing countries during 2006
Remittances, the portion of migrant workers’ earnings sent back home to their families, have been a critical means of financial support for generations. But, for the most part, these flows have historically been “hidden in plain view”, often uncounted and even ignored. All that is now changing – as the scale of migration increases, the corresponding growth in remittances is gaining widespread attention.

Today, the impact of remittances is recognized in all developing regions of the world, constituting an important flow of foreign currency to most countries and directly reaching millions of households, totaling approximately 10 per cent of the world’s population. The importance of remittances to poverty alleviation is obvious, but the potential multiplier effect on economic growth and investment is also significant.
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