Facts

Remittance industry think tank International Association of Money Transfer Networks announced the launch of their new conference MONEY TRANSFERS DUBAI 2008 to take place on the 28th April 2008 at Habtoor Resort in Dubai. The United Arab Emirates, being the financial powerhouse of the Gulf is also a successful example of the thriving economy, fully utilising the advantages of the modern mobile workforce, with expatriate community exceeding 80% of its 4.3 million population. These foreign workers transferred an estimated US$8.1 billion back to their families in 2007.

• During 2007 approximately 1,482,247 Guatemalans reside overseas, 72.0% of which are men and 28% women
• 84.8% of migrants send remittances to Guatemala. Of these senders 74.2% are men and 25.8% are women
• Among the households that receive remittances, 37% of recipients are men and 67% are women
• 49% of remittances are destined for basic consumption (purchase of food, clothing and shoes, transportation, household appliances, etc.)

• Pacific Islands migrants send some $558 million a year back to their home countries
• Remittances amount to more than 40 per cent of Tonga's GDP and a quarter of Samoa's

• Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis continued their rising trend as the country received $1.501 billion in the first quarter (July-September 2007) of the current fiscal year 2007-08, showing an increase of $267.66 million or 21.70 percent over the same period of last fiscal year

• Afghanistan has received over $3.3 billion from its expatriate community in 2006
• Nepal received $1.1 billion and Sri Lanka $3.4 billion
• India with $24.5 billion ranks tops among all the nations, while neighboring Pakistan received $6.2 billion last year
• Remittances to Afghanistan could have been more if the banking regulations are more convenient
• Among the top destinations for Afghan workers include Iran, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Turkey and India

• Remittances from emigrants in Spain surged 25.38 percent between January and July, compared to the same period in 2006, and hit a record $1 billion in July
• During the first seven months of this year, emigrants sent $6.48 billion home, including $1.03 billion in July alone
• Spain has become a magnet for immigrants in recent years, especially people from Latin America
• Ecuadorians, Romanians, Colombians, Argentines, Bolivians, Peruvians, Dominicans, Brazilians, Venezuelans and Cubans are the largest immigrant groups in Spain

• There are over 50 million migrants from Asia and the Pacific worldwide
• The main destinations are the United States, the Russian Federation and, in the case of the Pacific, New Zealand
• Emerging destination countries from India – the region’s main exporter of migrants, with 22 per cent of total migrant – include Malaysia and the Arab oil exporting countries

• Remittances from Filipinos working abroad rose 15 percent to $9.3 billion in the first eight months
• Remittances in August amounted to $1.2 billion, up 10.6 percent from a year ago or 10.09 percent higher than $1.096 billion in July
• The central bank expects remittance coursed through banks to hit $14 billion this year, with about $700 million passing through informal channels

• Remittances in Mexico are the second-largest source of foreign income, after oil, and ahead of tourism
• In some states, such as the central state of Michoacán, they amount to as much as 12% of the economy

• People in Russia sent USD 350 million to the South Caucasus in the first quarter of 2007
• Most of the transferred money was destined for Armenia; Georgia received the least
• Transfers from South Caucasus countries to Russia were USD 21 million in the same period, with the majority of the money coming from Armenia