Indian Migrants Remit $129 Billion Back Home In 2024 – OpEd
India remains the topmost recipient of remittances in 2024 with an estimated inflow of US$129 billion. It was followed by Mexico ($68 billion), China ($48 billion), Philippines ($40 billion) and Pakistan ($33 billion), a blog post by World Bank economists said.
The main reason was driven by a recovery in the job markets in high income countries.
The growth rate of remittances this year is estimated to be 5.8 percent, compared to 1.2 percent registered in 2023, according to the report.
“The recovery of the job markets in the high-income countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), following the onset of the pandemic, was the key driver of remittances,” the Business Standard newspaper reported quoting the blog as saying.
It added that officially recorded remittances to low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) are expected to reach $685 billion in 2024, an increase from $470 billion in 2021.
India also has the world’s largest skilled workforce. Many talented Indian doctors, IT specialists, scientists, professors, economists, journalists, engineers, and managers are currently working all around the globe. According to the United Nations’ International Migration Highlights, India has the largest diaspora in the world, with 35.42 million Indians living outside the motherland. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), US, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia host the largest number of migrants from India.
The diaspora is a powerful driver for India’s sustainable development. Indians have been at the top in sending remittances for several years.
The blog post said remittances have continued to outpace other types of external financial flows to low- and middle-income countries and will continue to increase because of enormous migration pressures driven by demographic trends, income gaps, and climate change.
It said the gap between remittances and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is expected to widen further in 2024.
In the past decade, remittances increased by 57 percent, while FDI declined by 41 percent, the World Bank said.
“Countries need to take note of the size and resilience of remittances and find ways to leverage these flows for poverty reduction, financing health and education, financial inclusion of households, and improving access to capital markets for state and non-state enterprises,” the blog said.
According to the Business Standard, remittance flows to South Asia are expected to register the highest increase in 2024, at 11.8 percent, driven by continued strong flows to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the blog post by economists Dilip Ratha, Sonia Plazaeung and financial analyst Ju Kim, added.
The main question is how many Indians live abroad?
According to the Indian External Affairs Ministry, as of May 2024, there are presently 35.42 million Indians living abroad. This number includes 15.85 non-resident Indians (NRIs) and 19.57 million persons of Indian origin (PIOs).
Actually, which are the countries where most of the Indians live? The U.S. is a country where most of the Indians live. There are 5.4 million Indians live in the U.S. The United Arab Emirates is home to 3.56 million Indians, Malaysia 2.91 million , Canada 2.87 million and Saudi Arabia 2.40 million Indians are living.
Every year, 2.5 million Indians migrate to other countries. This is the highest number in the world.
In Jakarta, some of the Indian expatriates work and send every month money back to India.
“I work in a private company and send some $2,000 every month to India. My parents will get Rs 1.70 lakh and they are very happy,” an Indian expatriate, who refuse to reveal his identity, told this author.
‘’My brother works in a Middle Eastern country and he also sends $2,000 to India. It means my parents every month will get Rs 3.4 lakhs and they are very happy,” he told this author.
Indians are helping their families by sending the money home.
