Remittance statistics

Find out the data on which countries send the most money abroad.

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Australia received US$1.1 billion in remittances in 2020 and sent US$4.3 billion abroad. We've unpacked the most recently available data from the World Bank to get an idea of where this money is coming from.

What does remittance mean?

Remittance refers to the transfer of money. In this case, it's about transferring funds from someone in one country to a person in another country. It's particularly important in many developing nations, where international remittances make up a significant portion of the country's GDP. The total value of remittances received around the world has increased significantly over the past two decades.

Countries whose GDPs depend on money transfers

Countries that are classed as "developing nations" all saw migrant remittance inflows making up a solid percentage of their GDP in 2019. In countries such as Tonga, migrant remittance inflows were responsible for approximately 38.5% of 2019 GDP. Rounding out the top five countries reliant on migrant remittance inflows were Haiti (34.3%), Nepal (29.9%), Tajikistan (29.7%) and the Kyrgyz Republic (29.6%).

RankCountry% of GDP
1Tonga38.50%
2Haiti34.30%
3Nepal29.90%
4Tajikistan29.70%
5Kyrgyz Republic29.60%
6Honduras21.40%
7El Salvador20.80%
8Comoros19.30%
9Samoa18.40%
10West Bank and Gaza17.60%
11Jamaica15.90%
12Lesotho15.70%
13Moldova15.60%
14Kosovo15.10%
15Gambia, The13.50%
16Marshall Islands13.50%
17Yemen, Rep.13.30%
18Nicaragua13.10%
19Guatemala13.00%
20Liberia12.80%
21Lebanon12.50%
22Georgia12.30%
23Cabo Verde12.10%
24Armenia11.90%
25Ukraine11.80%
26Bosnia and Herzegovina10.50%
27Jordan10.40%
28Montenegro10.40%
29Kiribati9.90%
30Senegal9.90%
31Philippines9.80%
32Albania9.30%
33Sri Lanka9.10%
34Togo9.10%
35Egypt, Arab Rep.8.80%
36Dominican Republic8.60%
37Dominica8.40%
38Tuvalu8.40%
39Zimbabwe8.00%
40Pakistan7.90%
41Serbia7.80%
42Guyana7.40%
43South Sudan6.70%
44Vietnam6.40%
45Micronesia, Fed. Sts.6.30%
46Uzbekistan6.00%
47Morocco5.80%
48Nigeria5.70%
49Cambodia5.60%
50Bangladesh5.50%
51Fiji5.50%
52Ghana5.50%
53Mali5.40%
54St. Vincent and the Grenadines5.40%
55Tunisia5.30%
56Mongolia5.00%
57Uganda5.00%
58Belize4.80%
59Croatia4.60%
60Myanmar4.60%
61Afghanistan4.40%
62Congo, Dem. Rep.4.00%
63Madagascar3.80%
64Grenada3.70%
65Sao Tome and Principe3.70%
66Benin3.50%
67Latvia3.50%
68Bulgaria3.40%
69Eswatini3.20%
70Guinea-Bissau3.10%
71Mexico3.10%
72Bolivia3.00%
73Burkina Faso3.00%
74Ecuador3.00%
75Niger3.00%
76Hungary2.90%
77Kenya2.90%
78Luxembourg2.90%
79Vanuatu2.90%
80Azerbaijan2.80%
81India2.80%
82Rwanda2.70%
83Djibouti2.60%
84Lithuania2.60%
85North Macedonia2.50%
86Barbados2.20%
87Belgium2.20%
88Bhutan2.20%
89Belarus2.10%
90Colombia2.10%
91St. Kitts and Nevis2.10%
92Antigua and Barbuda2.00%
93Mozambique2.00%
94Slovak Republic2.00%
95St. Lucia2.00%
96Estonia1.90%
97Portugal1.90%
98Romania1.90%
99Cyprus1.80%
100Malta1.80%
101Sudan1.80%
102Mauritius1.70%
103Czech Republic1.60%
104Mauritania1.50%
105Paraguay1.50%
106Peru1.40%
107Seychelles1.40%
108Thailand1.40%
109Lao PDR1.30%
110Sierra Leone1.30%
111Solomon Islands1.30%
112Timor-Leste1.30%
113Poland1.20%
114Indonesia1.10%
115Slovenia1.10%
116Algeria1.00%
117Burundi1.00%
118Costa Rica0.90%
119France0.90%
120Cameroon0.80%
121Panama0.80%
122Spain0.80%
123Austria0.70%
124Cote d'Ivoire0.70%
125Iceland0.70%
126Palau0.70%
127Tanzania0.70%
128Malawi0.60%
129Russian Federation0.60%
130Sweden0.60%
131Trinidad and Tobago0.60%
132Aruba0.50%
133China0.50%
134Ethiopia0.50%
135Italy0.50%
136Malaysia0.50%
137Zambia0.50%
138Denmark0.40%
139Germany0.40%
140Kazakhstan0.40%
141Korea, Rep.0.40%
142Namibia0.40%
143Switzerland0.40%
144Venezuela, RB0.40%
145Finland0.30%
146Guinea0.30%
147Iran, Islamic Rep.0.30%
148Iraq0.30%
149Israel0.30%
150Netherlands0.30%
151Qatar0.30%
152South Africa0.30%
153Botswana0.20%
154Brazil0.20%
155Greece0.20%
156Ireland0.20%
157New Zealand0.20%
158Norway0.20%
159United Kingdom0.20%
160Uruguay0.20%
161Argentina0.10%
162Australia0.10%
163Canada0.10%
164Gabon0.10%
165Hong Kong SAR, China0.10%
166Japan0.10%
167Maldives0.10%
168Oman0.10%
169Turkey0.10%
170Macao SAR, China0.05%
171Kuwait0.02%
172Angola0.00%
173Chile0.00%
174Papua New Guinea0.00%
175Saudi Arabia0.00%
176Somalia0.00%
177Suriname0.00%
178Turkmenistan0.00%
179United Arab Emirates0.00%
180United States0.00%

Sources: World Bank, Finder

Which country is sending the most money?

Where is all that money coming from? Of all the countries that are sending money overseas, the US sends by far the most offshore, with US$148,488.65 million being sent in 2017-18.

The United States was followed by Saudi Arabia (US$46,724.65 million), the United Arab Emirates (US$32,977.78 million), the United Kingdom (US$26,801.50 million) and Germany (US$24,670.87 million) to round out the top five countries sending money abroad.

RankCountryUS$ million sent
1United States$148,488.65
2Saudi Arabia$46,724.65
3United Arab Emirates$32,977.78
4United Kingdom$26,801.50
5Germany$24,670.87
6Canada$24,559.05
7France$21,758.02
8Spain$17,874.00
9Italy$17,369.11
10Hong Kong SAR, China$17,121.10
11Australia$16,887.93
12Russian Federation$16,503.09
13Kuwait$11,733.39
14Qatar$10,677.07
15Switzerland$9,197.21
16Japan$9,137.66
17Malaysia$6,187.18
18Singapore$6,176.21
19Belgium$6,021.64
20Korea, Rep.$5,989.08
21India$5,710.13
22Netherlands$5,614.98
23Turkey$4,737.35
24Oman$4,486.16
25Ukraine$4,328.00
26Austria$4,083.32
27Argentina$3,960.94
28Sweden$3,684.03
29Nepal$3,225.66
30Thailand$3,176.23
31Israel$2,926.44
32Venezuela, RB$2,922.12
33Kazakhstan$2,892.12
34Jordan$2,856.63
35China$2,827.83
36Cameroon$2,780.59
37Mexico$2,749.36
38Bahrain$2,705.36
39South Africa$2,588.67
40Portugal$2,468.48
41New Zealand$2,407.98
42Macao SAR, China$2,243.42
43Norway$2,237.89
44Ireland$2,161.09
45Czech Republic$2,130.81
46Bangladesh$2,113.00
47Denmark$1,857.38
48Brazil$1,758.87
49Poland$1,669.87
50Greece$1,576.74
51Serbia$1,374.54
52Luxembourg$1,321.47
53Ghana$1,282.42
54Sri Lanka$1,278.20
55Lebanon$1,167.27
56Croatia$1,161.12
57Nigeria$1,143.71
58Uzbekistan$1,123.04
59Hungary$1,093.13
60Gabon$1,033.53
61Libya$1,003.75
62Belarus$982.20
63Dominican Republic$960.61
64Finland$944.22
65West Bank and Gaza$915.50
66Costa Rica$896.42
67Chile$892.81
68Indonesia$877.72
69Slovak Republic$872.78
70Ecuador$828.13
71Slovenia$813.42
72Benin$801.33
73Brunei Darussalam$782.20
74Puerto Rico$743.76
75French Polynesia$638.79
76Tanzania$629.02
77Romania$590.75
78New Caledonia$566.41
79Philippines$536.62
80Panama$451.15
81Togo$445.67
82Cyprus$437.90
83Niger$433.76
84Myanmar$419.89
85Syrian Arab Republic$417.75
86Burkina Faso$411.57
87South Sudan$401.24
88Egypt, Arab Rep.$400.23
89Pakistan$366.67
90Kenya$356.80
91Sudan$352.98
92Moldova$346.23
93Latvia$335.20
94Cambodia$333.78
95Rwanda$324.11
96Iran, Islamic Rep.$295.99
97Andorra$292.59
98Armenia$292.24
99Gambia, The$286.94
100Azerbaijan$284.97
101Peru$284.19
102Colombia$281.17
103Guam$266.24
104Senegal$244.53
105Mauritania$243.83
106Bolivia$242.76
107Lithuania$241.43
108Chad$238.54
109Paraguay$233.01
110Mauritius$225.10
111Congo, Rep.$216.34
112Uruguay$211.59
113Tajikistan$209.64
114Uganda$208.80
115Turkmenistan$202.13
116Estonia$201.50
117Korea, Dem. Rep.$200.60
118Algeria$199.55
119Albania$198.57
120Belize$198.13
121Bhutan$195.99
122Iraq$193.49
123Kyrgyz Republic$190.23
124Maldives$187.96
125Guinea$186.07
126Madagascar$182.92
127Afghanistan$181.64
128Monaco$181.26
129Guatemala$181.16
130Mali$178.85
131Liberia$167.93
132Botswana$164.85
133Georgia$160.59
134El Salvador$149.65
135Bulgaria$145.58
136Nicaragua$134.87
137Iceland$132.92
138Macedonia, FYR$128.18
139Central African Republic$127.79
140Bahamas, The$105.53
141Vietnam$104.33
142Morocco$102.43
143Suriname$100.09
144Haiti$95.98
145Cayman Islands$94.13
146Solomon Islands$92.36
147Channel Islands$90.94
148Northern Mariana Islands$85.28
149Virgin Islands (U.S.)$81.91
150Malta$80.34
151Sierra Leone$78.10
152Montenegro$75.62
153Burundi$75.47
154Honduras$73.34
155Aruba$72.68
156Equatorial Guinea$72.23
157Curacao$71.39
158Tunisia$71.28
159Lao PDR$68.11
160Congo, Dem. Rep.$67.21
161Mongolia$65.97
162Cuba$63.18
163Yemen, Rep.$62.30
164Mozambique$60.86
165American Samoa$58.44
166Papua New Guinea$53.50
167Bosnia and Herzegovina$52.97
168Seychelles$52.49
169Liechtenstein$47.59
170Angola$46.90
171Zimbabwe$46.32
172Vanuatu$46.08
173Bermuda$45.89
174Jamaica$42.37
175Sint Maarten (Dutch part)$42.14
176Isle of Man$38.61
177Malawi$38.55
178Antigua and Barbuda$36.36
179Cabo Verde$30.76
180Fiji$28.11
181Greenland$27.48
182Guinea-Bissau$26.84
183Timor-Leste$26.28
184Trinidad and Tobago$20.29
185Barbados$20.15
186Zambia$20.00
187Palau$18.08
188Turks and Caicos Islands$17.50
189Guyana$15.55
190San Marino$15.08
191Ethiopia$13.32
192Comoros$12.77
193Faeroe Islands$12.60
194Eritrea$12.49
195Swaziland$11.52
196Samoa$10.33
197St. Lucia$8.80
198St. Kitts and Nevis$8.56
199Namibia$8.43
200Djibouti$6.72
201Micronesia, Fed. Sts.$6.23
202Marshall Islands$5.65
203St. Vincent and the Grenadines$5.63
204Dominica$5.60
205Grenada$3.20
206Tonga$2.90
207Kiribati$2.10
208Lesotho$1.76
209Somalia$0.87
210Tuvalu$0.18
211St. Martin (French part)$0.00
212Sao Tome and Principe$0.00
213Kosovo$0.00
214Cote d'Ivoire$0.00

Sources: World Bank, Finder

Which country is receiving the most money?

As far as where that money is being sent, India tops the list for countries receiving remittances at US$68,968 million.

India was followed by China (US$63,860 million), the Philippines (US$32,808 million), Mexico (US$30,600 million) and France (US$25,372 million) to round out the top five countries receiving money from abroad.

RankCountryUS$ million received
1India$68,968.00
2China$63,860.00
3Philippines$32,808.00
4Mexico$30,600.00
5France$25,372.00
6Nigeria$21,967.00
7Egypt, Arab Rep.$19,983.00
8Pakistan$19,665.00
9Germany$16,833.00
10Vietnam$13,781.00
11Bangladesh$13,469.00
12Spain$10,692.00
13Belgium$10,273.00
14Italy$9,287.00
15Indonesia$8,997.00
16Guatemala$8,540.00
17Russian Federation$8,026.00
18Lebanon$7,955.00
19Ukraine$7,895.00
20Morocco$7,467.00
21Sri Lanka$7,190.00
22Nepal$6,947.00
23Poland$6,805.00
24Thailand$6,729.00
25United States$6,621.00
26Korea, Rep.$6,332.00
27Dominican Republic$6,191.00
28Colombia$5,636.00
29El Salvador$5,051.00
30Romania$4,944.00
31Portugal$4,811.00
32Hungary$4,692.00
33Japan$4,578.00
34Jordan$4,418.00
35United Kingdom$4,374.00
36Honduras$4,322.00
37Czech Republic$3,658.00
38Serbia$3,588.00
39Yemen, Rep.$3,351.00
40Peru$3,039.00
41Austria$2,934.00
42Ecuador$2,848.00
43Uzbekistan$2,839.00
44Sweden$2,819.00
45Brazil$2,699.00
46Jamaica$2,522.00
47Switzerland$2,488.00
48Kyrgyz Republic$2,486.00
49Haiti$2,459.00
50Croatia$2,307.00
51Senegal$2,238.00
52Bulgaria$2,224.00
53Tajikistan$2,220.00
54Ghana$2,190.00
55Slovak Republic$2,100.00
56Algeria$2,093.00
57West Bank and Gaza$2,034.00
58Bosnia and Herzegovina$2,010.00
59Kenya$1,970.00
60Australia$1,941.00
61Tunisia$1,903.00
62Georgia$1,794.00
63Luxembourg$1,746.00
64Moldova$1,640.00
65Malaysia$1,634.00
66Syrian Arab Republic$1,623.00
67Armenia$1,539.00
68Bermuda$1,478.00
69Netherlands$1,406.00
70Nicaragua$1,395.00
71Albania$1,382.00
72Iran, Islamic Rep.$1,379.00
73Uganda$1,375.00
74Denmark$1,344.00
75Bolivia$1,341.00
76Canada$1,340.00
77Lithuania$1,302.00
78Belarus$1,200.00
79Kosovo$1,115.00
80Latvia$1,090.00
81Azerbaijan$1,050.00
82Turkey$1,045.00
83Mali$1,040.00
84Iraq$1,035.00
85Israel$990.00
86South Africa$898.00
87Finland$821.00
88Ethiopia$816.00
89Paraguay$732.00
90Myanmar$723.00
91Argentina$688.00
92Qatar$668.00
93New Caledonia$642.00
94Norway$614.00
95Ireland$608.00
96French Polynesia$589.00
97Liberia$580.00
98Costa Rica$562.00
99Estonia$559.00
100Panama$533.00
101Burkina Faso$444.00
102Tanzania$435.00
103Hong Kong SAR, China$430.00
104Montenegro$426.00
105Lesotho$415.00
106Afghanistan$410.00
107Slovenia$406.00
108Togo$402.00
109Cambodia$386.00
110Cote d'Ivoire$379.00
111Kazakhstan$355.00
112Cyprus$335.00
113Greece$319.00
114Macedonia, FYR$314.00
115New Zealand$297.00
116Venezuela, RB$293.00
117Saudi Arabia$287.00
118Cameroon$278.00
119Guyana$275.00
120Mongolia$269.00
121Benin$266.00
122Madagascar$262.00
123Mauritius$262.00
124Cabo Verde$222.00
125Gambia, The$216.00
126Malta$215.00
127Niger$198.00
128Rwanda$181.00
129Sudan$177.00
130Iceland$172.00
131Faeroe Islands$168.00
132Curacao$160.00
133Trinidad and Tobago$150.00
134Tonga$146.00
135Samoa$143.00
136Comoros$138.00
137Lao PDR$124.00
138Swaziland$114.00
139Barbados$112.00
140Chile$104.00
141Guinea-Bissau$104.00
142Uruguay$100.00
143Belize$89.00
144Fiji$86.00
145Timor-Leste$85.00
146Sint Maarten (Dutch part)$64.00
147Djibouti$62.00
148Dominica$59.00
149Guinea$55.00
150Mozambique$51.00
151Sierra Leone$49.00
152Namibia$43.00
153St. Vincent and the Grenadines$42.00
154Zambia$42.00
155Bhutan$40.00
156Oman$40.00
157Malawi$38.00
158Burundi$34.00
159St. Lucia$32.00
160Antigua and Barbuda$31.00
161Macao SAR, China$29.00
162Marshall Islands$29.00
163Micronesia, Fed. Sts.$24.00
164Seychelles$24.00
165Botswana$20.00
166Solomon Islands$20.00
167Sao Tome and Principe$19.00
168Vanuatu$19.00
169Kiribati$18.00
170Congo, Dem. Rep.$17.00
171St. Kitts and Nevis$11.00
172Turkmenistan$10.00
173Aruba$8.00
174Suriname$7.00
175Angola$4.00
176Kuwait$4.00
177Maldives$4.00
178Tuvalu$4.00
179Papua New Guinea$3.00
180Palau$2.00
181Grenada$1.00

Sources: World Bank, Finder

What are the remittance fees around the world?

With such an enormous amount of money being moved across borders, what is the cost of sending money overseas? The fees that most providers charge include exchange rate margins as well as a transfer fee.

The global average rate for remittances is 7.14%*, but this varies by country and method of payment. Banks are by far the most expensive method to remit money, with fees averaging 10.8%. Money transfer operators charge an average fee of 6.2%, while post offices charge the least at 5.5%. However, this is just an average and the number can vary. Make sure to compare what options are available to you before diving in.

The map below shows the average rate of remittance fees globally and is sortable by the year. In 2017, the most expensive countries included Angola at 24% and Nigeria at 25%.

Net remittances

The world map below illustrates which countries receive the most remittances and which countries send out the most. To show this, we've used the data on what each country receives in remittances minus what it sends out. If a country has a negative value, this means that it's sending out more than what it's receiving.

The United States, for example, is the country that sends out the most money in remittances compared to what it receives. India, on the other hand, receives more remittance payments than it sends out.


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