Last year migrant workers living in Europe sent home US$109.4 billion in remittances, providing a lifeline to more than 150 million people around the world, according to the new report “Sending Money Home: European flows and markets” by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Last year migrant workers living in Europe sent home US$109.4 billion in remittances, providing a lifeline to more than 150 million people around the world, according to the new report “Sending Money Home: European flows and markets” by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Remittances from Europe represent a quarter of remittances flows worldwide. Last year, the amount sent from migrant workers in the European Union’s 28 members states was comparable to the ODA sent by the EU to developing countries.
The typical amount sent from migrant workers ranged from $1,500 to $3,200 annually.
- Europe constitutes almost 10 per cent of the world’s population, but is home to 20 per cent of all migrant workers (50 million) and is the source of 25 per cent of global remittance flows.
- In 2014, it was estimated that migrants living in Europe sent US$109.4 billion in remittances to lower-income European countries and to the developing world.
- Western Europe and the Russian Federation (26 total sending countries) are the main sources of migrant remittances in Europe.
- The top six European sending countries account for 75 per cent of the flows: the Russian Federation (US$20.6 billion), the United Kingdom (US$17.1 billion), Germany (US$14 billion), France (US$10.5 billion), Italy (US$10.4 billion) and Spain (US$9.6 billion).