It is estimated that three quarters of remittances are used to cover essential things: put food on the table and cover medical expenses, school fees or housing expenses. “The small amounts of $200 or $300 that each migrant sends home make up about 60 per cent of the family’s household income, and this makes an enormous difference in their lives and the communities in which they live.” Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD. “It is not about the money being sent home, it is about the impact on people’s lives,” explains Gilbert F. The money received is key in helping millions out of povertyĪlthough the money sent represents only 15 per cent of the money earned by migrants in the host countries, it is often a major part of a household’s total income in the countries of origin and, as such, represents a lifeline for millions of families.
Technical innovations, in particular mobile technologies, digitalization and blockchain can fundamentally transform the markets, coupled with a more conducive regulatory environment. To ensure that the funds can be put to better purposes, countries are aiming through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10.C to “reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent by 2030”. These international money transfers tend to be costly: on average, globally, currency conversions and fees amount to 7 per cent of the total amounts sent.
Contrary maybe to popular belief, this represents only 15 per cent of what they earn: the rest –85 per cent – stays in the countries where they actually earn the money, and is re-ingested into the local economy, or saved. On average, migrant workers send between US$200 and $300 home every one or two months. What migrants send back home represents only 15 per cent of what they earn Around 800 million in the world – or one in nine people– are recipients of these flows of money sent by their family members who have migrated for work. About one in nine people globally are supported by funds sent home by migrant workersĬurrently, about one billion people in the world – or one in seven – are involved with remittances, either by sending or receiving them. Here are eight things you might not know about the transformative power of these often small – yet major – contributions to sustainable development worldwide: 1.
This Sunday marked the second International Day of Family Remittances, observed every year on 16 June, in recognition of the fundamental contribution of migrant workers to their families and communities back home. Remittances matter: 8 facts you don’t know about the money migrants send back home 17 June 2019
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