International Migrants Day, celebrated on December 18, is an opportunity to remember that migrants do not only contribute to the economic growth and GDP of the countries where they work.
Their remittances to their countries of origin also “contribute significantly to development”as an expert from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlighted during the Forum for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) organized in Brussels last November.
IOM conducted a specific study on the situation in Belgium, revealing that $7 billion (USD) in remittances were sent in 2022, representing less than 1% of global remittances that year. According to official statistics (Statbel), the number of migrants residing in Belgium was around 2.1 million in 2022.
If we include second-generation migrants, this figure rises to almost 4 million, or 34.5% of the total population of Belgium in 2022. This particular demographic situation motivated the IOM study on Belgium.
Morocco, Romania and Turkey among the first recipient countries
According to the IOM, remittances are personal, cross-border or intra-country monetary transfers made by migrants to individuals or communities with whom they have ties. These formal fund transfers can be done through different means such as Western Union, MoneyGram or mobile carriers.
The study published by the IOM office in Belgium and Luxembourg shows that transfers from Belgium have increased significantly over the last two decades, reaching more than 7 billion dollars (USD) in 2022 – around 1.2% of Belgium’s GDP – compared to 1.6 billion dollars in 2002.
Among the top ten beneficiary countries, Morocco comes first with 494 million dollars, before the Romania (396 million), the Türkiye (376), Poland (298), Bulgaria (147), Democratic Republic of Congo (145), Algeria (65), China (61), India (59) and Brazil (51).
Indeed, Morocco, Romania and Turkey have relatively larger diasporas residing in Belgium, with 233,334 Moroccan nationals, 109,176 Romanians and 103,019 Turks in 2022, according to Statbel.
Remittances contribute to health, education and daily expenses
In-depth analysis carried out by IOM in Belgium reveals that two thirds of remittances earn less than 2,500 euros per month. In total, 41% make transfers every month and the majority send up to 250 euros per transaction.
According to the IOM office in Belgium and Luxembourg, around 70% of those surveyed send money for needs essential and half of them for expenses of health. Around 40% make transfers for education costswhile less than 10% of them do so for commercial investments.
The survey concludes that “remittances provide crucial financial support to migrant family members in remittance-receiving countries.”
Remittances are twice as important as FDI globally
Globally, remittances to low- and middle-income countries increased from USD 128 billion in 2000 to USD 656 billion in 2023. In 2023, these are almost twice as high as foreign direct investments (FDI). worldwide, or 382 billion USD, and approximately three times higher than official development assistance (ODA), 256 billion USD.
It remains difficult to understand unrecorded flows through formal and informal channels. Nonetheless, given the overall state of remittances and the available data, it is likely that global remittances are much larger than current estimates suggest.
India, Mexico and China among the main beneficiary countries
The top ten countries receiving remittances in 2023 are India, Mexico and China.
| The top 10 beneficiary countries in 2023 | Total amount (billions of dollars) |
| Inde | 110 |
| Mexico | 66 |
| Chine | 50 |
| Philippines | 39 |
| Pakistan | 27 |
| Bangladesh | 22 |
| Guatemala | 20 |
| Nigeria | 20 |
| Egypt | 20 |
| Ukraine | 15 |
In 2023, the two regions, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa, received respectively 55 and 54 billion USD. In terms of share of GDP, remittances show that some countries rely heavily on this influx of money: they reach 31% of Lebanon’s GDP and 23% of Gambia’s GDP, for example.
Europe also remains an important region for migrant transfers, outside the European Union. Ukraine and Serbia are the main recipient countries, with USD 15 and 5.8 billion respectively in 2023. Remittances accounted for 17.6% of Kosovo’s GDP, 13.8% of Georgia’s GDP and 8. 5% of Ukraine’s GDP in 2023, according to the World Bank
Although remittances do not increase steadily and are affected by global economic crises, their growth to low- and middle-income countries is forecast at 2.3% in 2024 and 2.8% in 2025, reaching 690 billion USD in 2025.
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