DUSHANBE, March 20, 2013, Asia-Plus –Over the first two months of this year, physical entities have remitted some 360 million U.S. dollars to banks in Tajikistan, according to monthly report for March 2013,
Monitoring and Early Warning in Tajikistan
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The report notes that these figures are unofficial. In January, physical entities reportedly remitted 178.8 million USD dollars to banks in Tajikistan and unofficially reported remittances in February 2013 totaled 180.3 million USD.
According to the report, remittances are expected to increase as seasonal labor migration increases.
We will recall that 3.5952 billion USD were remitted to banks in Tajikistan last year, which was equal to nearly 48 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) that was estimated last year at more than 36.1 billion somoni (equivalent to some 7.6 billion USD).
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Russia notes that3.651 billion USD were sent through money transfer from Russia to Tajikistan in 2012. Among the CIS countries, Tajikistan last year took second place in terms of money transfer, and Uzbekistan was in the lead in this area in 2012 as 5.563 billion USD dollars were sent there from Russia in 2012.
According to the Central Bank of Russia, Ukraine took third place in terms of money transfer from Russia last year. 3.12 billion USD were sent to Ukraine from Russia in 2012.
Labor migrants remain a critical component in the economy of Tajikistan and remittances keep many families in the country above the poverty line.
Tajik migration service agency reports that over the first two months of 2013 a total of 152,871 persons have left Tajikistan, which is 24% more than in the same period last year, and 100,030 persons have returned to the country.
