Key facts about recent trends in global migration
The number of international migrants grew to 281 million in 2020; 3.6% of the world’s people lived outside their country of birth that year.
Amid COVID-19, remittances to some Latin American nations fell sharply in April, then rebounded
El Salvador experienced a 40% drop in remittances in April 2020 compared with April 2019, the largest decline among the six nations analyzed.
Sharp decline in remittances expected in 2020 amid COVID-19 lockdowns in top sending nations
Remittances – money sent by migrants to their home countries – are projected to fall by a record 20% this year.
Immigrants sent a record amount of money home to sub-Saharan African countries in 2017
Money sent by immigrants to their home countries in sub-Saharan Africa reached a record $41 billion in 2017.
Remittance flows worldwide in 2017
Worldwide, an estimated $625 billion (USD) was sent by migrants to individuals in their home countries in 2017, a 7% increase from 2016, when the amount was $586 billion, according to economists at the World Bank. This increase follows two consecutive years of decline.
Remittances from abroad are major economic assets for some developing countries
For five countries – Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Haiti, Tajikistan and Liberia – remittances from citizens abroad are equivalent to at least a quarter of GDP.
Migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean sent a record amount of money to their home countries in 2016
Remittance flows decreased worldwide for a second consecutive year in 2016, the first back-to-back decline in over three decades. Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean, however, rose to a record high.
Migrant remittances worldwide drop in 2015 for first time since Great Recession
Worldwide, an estimated $582 billion was sent by migrants to relatives in their home countries in 2015, a 2% decline from 2014.
Changing Patterns of Global Migration and Remittances
Patterns of global migration and remittances have shifted in recent decades, even as both the number of immigrants and the amount of money they send home have grown, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the United Nations and the World Bank.
Remittances to Latin America Recover—but Not to Mexico
1. Overview Remittances to Spanish-speaking Latin American countries overall have recovered from a decline during the recent recession, with the notable exception of Mexico, according to World Bank data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. Migrants’ remittances to Mexico, an estimated $22 billion in 2013, are 29% below their 2006 peak. For all other Spanish-speaking […]
