Remittances increased in low and middle income countries
According to the World Bank report related to migrants sending money to the country, remittances for low and middle income countries increased by about 3.8 percent in 2023. America, Britain, Singapore and Gulf countries have strong bases of skilled and unskilled workers. As a result, inflows are expected to increase by 8% to approximately $135 billion in 2024. Driven by remittances to India, flows to South Asia are projected to grow by 7.2% to $189 billion in 2023, down from growth of more than 12% in 2022. These flows are important for a country like India as it helps mitigate the impact of decline in foreign direct investment and high trade deficit. It said the key drivers of remittance growth in 2023 reflect the historically tight labor market in the US, high employment growth in Europe, and widespread benefits of employee retention programs. There is a decline in inflation in high income countries. America continues to be the largest source of remittances. After that there is Saudi Arabia. However, as a share of GDP, Saudi Arabia has a much higher volume of remittances than the US. The top source countries include several Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Declining inflation and strong labor markets in high-income countries boosted remittances from high-skilled Indians to the US, UK and Singapore, which collectively account for 36% of total remittance inflows to India.