In 2015, a record increase was recorded in the amount of international transfers made by migrants

The civil disasters that have erupted in recent years, covering an increasing number of regions, and the weakening of barriers between countries have led to an unprecedented increase in the popularity of international remittances. Last but not least, the development of technologies and the entry into the market of all new payment solutions contribute to this state of affairs. By the way, our Wirex service works just in this area, specializing in cheap money transfers between countries.

Every year, the World Bank publishes data on international migration and remittances around the world and the information for 2015 can be called impressive. Last year, the total number of migrants in various countries amounted to about 250 million people, thereby reaching a new record high.

Over the past year, migrants have sent a total of about $ 600 billion to their home countries. More than 70% of this amount went to developing countries. According to the report, India tops the list of countries that received the largest sums of money, accepting funds in the amount of $ 72 billion. The top three also included China (64 billion) and the Philippines (30 billion). They are followed by Mexico (25.7 billion), France (24.6 billion), Nigeria (20.8 billion), Egypt (20.4 billion), Pakistan (20.1 billion), Germany (17.5 billion) and Bangladesh (15.8 billion).


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A comment by Dilip Rathi, co-author of the World Bank report:

“Having more than tripled the amount of aid allocated to developing countries, remittances by international migrants are a vital supply line for millions of families in developing countries. In addition, immigrants have a stock of annual savings totaling $ 500 billion. Together, migrant transfers and savings offer a tangible source of funding for development projects that can improve the living conditions and environment in developing countries. ”

Data by region

It is quite natural that the countries with high incomes have acted as the main sources of funds. If you look at the statistics by region, we see that immigrants from East Asia and the Pacific region received $ 129 billion last year, 64 billion of which were sent to China, 30 billion to the Philippines, 12.3 billion to Vietnam, 10.5 billion to Indonesia , 5.7 billion to Thailand, 3.5 billion to Myanmar, 1.7 billion to Malaysia, 0.9 billion to Cambodia and 0.2 billion each, to Mongolia and Fiji.

Just over $ 36 billion were sent to Europe and Central Asia, mainly to Ukraine (6.2 billion), to Serbia (3.6 billion), Romania (3.2 billion), Tajikistan (3 billion), Uzbekistan (2.3 billion), Bosnia and Herzegovina ( 2 billion), Moldova and Bulgaria (1.8 billion each), Kyrgyzstan and Armenia (1.7 billion).

About 123 billion dollars were sent to South Asia, the flow of immigrants from which totaled 12.4 million people. The main beneficiary countries here were India (72.2 billion), Pakistan (20.1 billion), Bangladesh (15.8 billion), Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) and Nepal (6.6 billion).

The flow of funds into Latin America and the Caribbean countries amounted to 67 billion dollars.

Here in the list of recipients leads Mexico with 25.7 billion dollars. Guatemala (6.4 billion), Dominican Republic (5 billion), Colombia (4.5 billion), El Salvador (4.4 billion), Honduras (3.8 billion), Brazil (2.8 billion), Peru (2.7 billion), Ecuador followed with a solid lag. (2.4 billion) and Jamaica (2.3 billion).



The number of migrants from the Middle East and Africa was 23.9 million people, and the total amount of remittances to these regions was 52 billion. The number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa was 23.2 million people, the total amount of remittances was $ 35 billion.

In the Russian market of cross-border remittances, the situation is very different. The systematic fight against illegal migration in Russia in 2015, including the introduction of a new patent system, has led to a 10% decrease in foreigners in the Russian Federation and stabilization of the number of migrants. Such data was published earlier this year by the already abolished FMS.

“Despite the crisis manifestations in the economy, Russia remains an attractive state for labor migrants. Today, about 1.5 million foreigners work in Russia on patents, ”noted the Federal Service.

In total, at the beginning of the year, more than 10 million foreign citizens were registered in Russia (of which about 8.7 million were from CIS countries). Compared to the same period last year, the number of migrants decreased by 10%.

Against this background, in 2015, the volume of the money transfer market fell. However, if the number of migrants fell by only 10%, then the volume of cross-border transfers (with and without opening an account through credit organizations, including transfers made through money transfer systems) was almost halved. In percentage terms, the decline compared with 2014 amounted to 49% - from 68.878 billion US dollars at the end of 2014 to 35.117 billion US dollars at the end of 2015 (data from the Central Bank). These statistics, however, reflect data on cross-border transfers for all residents of Russia, including residents and non-residents. If we talk about migrants in particular, in 2015 they accounted for 10.509 billion dollars.

In 2015, through money transfer systems, including ANELIK, BLIZKO, CONTACT payment systems, InterExpress, Western Union, Golden Crown, Sberbank (Hummingbird), International Money Transfers LEADER, UNISTREAM, as well as Russian Post, Russia sent 9.718 billion US dollars (53% less than in 2014). In Russia (incoming transfers) - only 3.32 billion. The number of remittances from Russia to neighboring countries also decreased, by about 45.5%. At the same time, the lion's share of funds sent through money transfer systems goes to neighboring countries. So, in 2015, 7.977 billion US dollars were sent to the CIS countries and only 1.741 billion - to foreign countries. Uzbekistan remains the leader in terms of outgoing remittances, Tajikistan is in second place, Kyrgyzstan is in third place, and Ukraine is in fourth place.

Based on materials of securities and LTP . You can test the work of the Wirex instant international money transfer service in a mobile application, sending money abroad or paying for a purchase in an online store. Download the mobile application on Android here on iOS here . Virtual card is issued for free immediately after installing the application.