Remittance Data
By MPI Staff
June 1, 2003
The main sources of official data on migrants' remittances are the annual balance of payments records of countries,
which are compiled in the Balance of Payments Yearbook published annually by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For more information on remittances from the United States based on this data, see this issue's Spotlight.
In migration literature, the term "migrant remittances" has generally come to refer to the transfers in cash or in kind from a migrant to household residents in the county of origin. However, the IMF data presented in the tables below are based on a much broader definition and include three categories of data:
- Workers' remittances refer to transfers in cash or in kind from migrants to resident households in the countries of origin. Usually these are ongoing transfers between members of the same family, with persons abroad being absent for a year or longer.
- Compensation to employees refers to the wages, salaries, and other remuneration, in cash or in kind, paid to individuals who work in a country other than where they legally reside. For example, the wages earned by seasonal or other short-term migrant workers (i.e., abroad for less than a year) would be included in this category, as well as border workers who work, but do not reside, in a neighboring country. It also includes wages and salaries earned by the local staff of foreign institutions, such as embassies and international organizations, and companies based abroad but operating locally.
- Migrants' transfers refer to capital transfers of financial assets made by migrants as they move from one country to another and stay for more than one year.
The data provided in the tables below show the total remittances, which is the sum of the values of the three IMF categories defined above.
While the categories used by the IMF are well defined, there are several problems associated with their implementation worldwide that can affect their comparability. The data have serious limitations and the estimates obtained should be interpreted with caution. On the one hand, official remittance figures may underestimate the size of flows because they fail to capture informal remittance transfers, including sending cash back with returning migrants or by carrying cash and/or goods when migrants return home. On the other hand, official remittance figures may also overestimate the size of the flows. Other types of monetary transfers -- including illicit ones -- cannot always be distinguished from remittances.
The information presented here is derived from "Measurement of Remittances," pp. 321-362 in Bilsborrow et al., 1997,
International Migration Statistics: Guidelines for Improving Data Collection Systems
(Geneva: International Labour Office).
TABLES
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Table 1. Top fifteen countries
with the highest total remittances received, 2001
|
| Country |
Total remittances
(in millions)1 |
GDP
(in millions)2 |
Total population3 |
Total remittances as percentage of GDP |
Total remittances
per capita |
| Mexico |
9,920.0 |
617,819.7 |
101,879,171 |
1.6 |
97.37 |
| France |
9,220.0 |
1,309,807.0 |
59,658,144 |
0.7 |
154.55 |
| India |
9,160.0 |
457,048.8 |
1,002,708,291 |
2.0 |
9.14 |
| Philippines |
6,366.0 |
71,437.7 |
81,369,751 |
8.9 |
78.24 |
| Spain |
4,692.0 |
581,823.0 |
40,087,104 |
0.8 |
117.05 |
| Germany |
3,800.0 |
1,846,069.0 |
82,280,551 |
0.2 |
46.18 |
| Portugal |
3,573.0 |
109,802.5 |
10,066,253 |
3.3 |
354.95 |
| Belgium |
3,493.0 |
229,609.6 |
10,258,762 |
1.5 |
340.49 |
| Egypt |
2,911.0 |
98,475.8 |
71,901,545 |
3.0 |
40.49 |
| Turkey |
2,786.0 |
147,682.7 |
66,493,970 |
1.9 |
41.90 |
| United States |
2,380.0 |
10,065,270.0 |
285,023,886 |
-- |
8.35 |
| Italy |
2,266.0 |
1,088,754.0 |
57,844,924 |
0.2 |
39.17 |
| Bangladesh |
2,104.5 |
46,705.9 |
132,974,813 |
4.5 |
15.83 |
| Greece |
2,014.0 |
117,168.7 |
10,623,835 |
1.7 |
189.57 |
| Jordan |
2,011.0 |
8,829.1 |
5,153,378 |
22.8 |
390.23 |
-- Figure rounds to 0.0.
1The remittance data presented in the above
table are from IMF (International Monetary Fund), 2003, Balance of Payments
Statistics Yearbook
2002 (Washington,
DC, IMF Publications Services). "Total remittances" refers to the
sum of the 1) workers' remittances, 2) compensation to employees, and 3) migrant
transfers reported by each country. The remittance data presented for all countries
are for 2001 except the data for India which are for 2000. For additional information
on how remittances are defined and measured, see Chapter Seven in Bilsborrow
et. al., 1997, International Migration Statistics: Guidelines for Improving
Data
Collection Systems (Geneva: International Labour Office).
2The source for the gross domestic product for each country is the World Bank
website at devdata.worldbank.org/data-query. The GDP data presented for all
countries are for 2001 except the data for India which are for 2000.
3The source of the total population data for each country are estimates generated
by the US Census Bureau (see www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbrank.html). The total
population figures presented for all countries are for 2001 except India which
is for 2000. |
|
|
|
Table 2. Top fifteen countries
with the highest total remittances received as a percentage
of the GDP, 2001
|
| Country |
Total remittances
(in millions)1 |
GDP
(in millions)2 |
Total population3 |
Total remittances
as percentage of GDP |
Total remittances
per capita |
| Lesotho |
209.0 |
796.7 |
1,852,808 |
26.2 |
112.80 |
| Vanuatu |
53.3 |
212.8 |
192,910 |
25.0 |
276.14 |
| Jordan |
2,011.0 |
8,829.1 |
5,153,378 |
22.8 |
390.23 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
860.1 |
4,769.1 |
3,922,205 |
18.0 |
219.29 |
| Albania |
699.0 |
4,113.7 |
3,510,484 |
17.0 |
199.12 |
| Nicaragua |
335.7 |
2,067.8 |
4,918,393 |
16.2 |
68.25 |
| Yemen |
1,436.9 |
9,177.2 |
17,479,206 |
15.7 |
82.21 |
| Moldova (Republic of) |
223.1 |
1,479.4 |
4,431,570 |
15.1 |
50.34 |
| El Salvador |
1,925.2 |
13,738.9 |
6,237,662 |
14.0 |
308.64 |
| Jamaica |
1,058.7 |
7,784.1 |
2,665,636 |
13.6 |
397.17 |
| Dominican Republic |
1,982.0 |
21,211.0 |
8,475,396 |
9.3 |
233.85 |
| Philippines |
6,366.0 |
71,437.7 |
81,369,751 |
8.9 |
78.24 |
| Uganda |
483.0 |
5,675.3 |
24,170,422 |
8.5 |
19.98 |
| Honduras |
541.0 |
6,385.8 |
6,357,941 |
8.5 |
85.09 |
| Ecuador |
1,420.0 |
17,982.4 |
13,183,978 |
7.9 |
107.71 |
1The remittance data presented in the above table
are from IMF (International Monetary Fund), 2003, Balance of Payments Statistics
Yearbook 2002 (Washington, DC, IMF Publications Services). "Total remittances" refers
to the sum of the 1) workers' remittances, 2) compensation to employees, and
3) migrant transfers reported by each country. The remittance data presented
for all countries are for 2001, except the data for Yemen which are for 2000.
For additional information on how remittances are defined and measured, see
Chapter Seven in Bilsborrow et. al., 1997, International Migration Statistics:
Guidelines for Improving Data Collection Systems (Geneva: International Labour
Office).
2The source for the gross domestic product for each country is the World Bank
website at devdata.worldbank.org/data-query.
The GDP data presented for all countries is for 2001 except the data for Nicaragua
which is for 1998 and for Yemen which is for 2000.
3The source of the total population data for each
country are estimates generated by the US Census Bureau (see www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbrank.html).
The total population figures presented for all countries are for 2001, except
Yemen which is for 2000. |
|
|
|
Table 3. Top fifteen countries
with the highest total remittances received per capita,
2001
|
| Country |
Total remittances
(in millions)1 |
GDP
(in millions)2 |
Total population3 |
Total remittances
as percentage of GDP |
Total remittances
per capita |
| Luxembourg4 |
576.0 |
18,540.0 |
442,972 |
3.1 |
1,300.31 |
| Jamaica |
1,058.7 |
7,784.1 |
2,665,636 |
13.6 |
397.17 |
| Jordan |
2,011.0 |
8,829.1 |
5,153,378 |
22.8 |
390.23 |
| Portugal |
3,573.0 |
109,802.5 |
10,066,253 |
3.3 |
354.95 |
| Belgium |
3,493.0 |
229,609.6 |
10,258,762 |
1.5 |
340.49 |
| El Salvador |
1,925.2 |
13,738.9 |
6,237,662 |
14.0 |
308.64 |
| Vanuatu |
53.3 |
212.8 |
192,910 |
25.0 |
276.14 |
| New Zealand |
1,034.0 |
50,425.3 |
3,864,129 |
2.1 |
267.59 |
| Dominican Republic |
1,982.0 |
21,211.0 |
8,475,396 |
9.3 |
233.85 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
860.1 |
4,769.1 |
3,922,205 |
18.0 |
219.29 |
| Albania |
699.0 |
4,113.7 |
3,510,484 |
17.0 |
199.12 |
| Greece |
2,014.0 |
117,168.7 |
10,623,835 |
1.7 |
189.57 |
| Austria |
1,513.0 |
188,545.5 |
8,150,835 |
0.8 |
185.63 |
| Switzerland |
1,255.0 |
247,090.7 |
7,283,274 |
0.5 |
172.31 |
| Croatia |
727.7 |
20,260.5 |
4,334,142 |
3.6 |
167.90 |
1The remittance data presented in the above table
are from IMF (International Monetary Fund), 2003, Balance of Payments Statistics
Yearbook 2002 (Washington, DC, IMF Publications Services). "Total remittances" refers
to the sum of the 1) workers' remittances, 2) compensation to employees, and
3) migrant transfers reported by each country. The remittance data presented
for all countries are for 2001. For additional information on how remittances
are defined and measured, see Chapter Seven in Bilsborrow et. al., 1997, International
Migration Statistics: Guidelines for Improving Data Collection Systems (Geneva:
International Labour Office).
2The source for the gross domestic product for each country is the World Bank
website at devdata.worldbank.org/data-query.
The GDP data presented for all countries are for 2001.
3The source of the total population data for each
country are estimates generated by the US Census Bureau (see www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbrank.html).
The total population figures presented for all countries are for 2001.
4For Luxembourg, all of the remittances reported for 2001 fall
into the "compensation to employees" category. The compensation to
employees category includes wages, salaries, and other remuneration paid to
individuals who work in a country other than where they legally reside. This
includes seasonal or short-term migrants, border workers who work but don't
reside in a neighboring country, as well as the local staff of embassies and
other international organizations. |
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