DUSHANBE, March 22, Asia-Plus — As migrant remittances have ballooned in size, they have caught the attention of high level policymakers. For 2007, recorded remittances flows worldwide are estimated at $318 billion, of which $240 billion went to developing countries, the UN News Center (in Russian) reported on March 20, citing to the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008, released on March 19.
These flows do not include informal channels, which would significantly enlarge the volume of remittances if they were recorded.
The WB report noted that official remittance constituted 36 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) of Tajikistan.
The report says that in 2007, the top recipient countries of recorded remittances were India, China, Mexico, the Philippines, and France.
An estimated 5.7 million Indian workers abroad sent home $27 billion in 2007 to make India the top receiver of migrant remittances while the US was the main remittance source, according to latest World Bank data. Workers from China ($25.7 billion), Mexico ($25 billion), the Philippines ($17 billion), and France ($12.5 billion) made up the rest of the top five, the WB’s new Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008 said.
As a share of GDP, however, smaller countries such as Tajikistan (36 percent), Moldova (36 percent), Tonga (32 percent), Kyrgyzstan (27 percent), and Honduras (26 percent) were the largest recipients in 2006, according to the report.
Labor migrants are a critical component in the economy of Tajikistan. Migration from Tajikistan has been very large since transition, particularly to Russia. Significant remittances to Tajikistan have helped reduce household poverty and provide essential foreign exchange.
