Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates accounted for more than six out of 10 remittances sent from the Middle East and Central Asia to other countries in 2021. Remittances from these four countries ranged from 2.4 billion U.S. dollars to 3.6 billion U.S. dollars. Remittances refer to cross-border payments to family or friends and are often associated with migrant workers sending money back home to friends or relatives back in their communities of origin. It is estimated that about one in seven people worldwide are involved with remittances - substantially impacting payment behavior in, especially, Asia and Latin America. The outflow from the Middle East especially goes towards South Asia - India and Bangladesh - and Southeast Asia.
Top remittance sending countries and territories in Middle East and Central Asia, outflow by receiving region in 2021
(in million U.S. dollars)
Sending territory
Total
Share of total outflow in Middle East and Central Asia (%)
Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Palestinian territories
Survey time period
December 2022
Special properties
Remittance figures have a publication delay. Numbers cover 2021, but were reported in late 2022. As of November 2024, it is unclear when numbers will update - as the KNOMAD program also has been discontinued; All numbers are in current (nominal) U.S. dollars; See the "Details" tab for more information on the source methodology.
Supplementary notes
Regional figures were collected and calculated by Statista.
The source adds the following information:
No numbers are available for Venezuela with regards to incoming remittances;
Due to political and economic situations, the flows between certain countries was considered to be 0 (zero). These countries included: India and Pakistan (and vice versa), Lebanon and Israel (and vice versa), and Azerbaijan and Armenia (and vice versa);
The source emphasizes several times that the numbers provided are estimates, as the data suffers from several issues. These relate to, for example, the frequency of migrant data updating per country, the lack of data on informal money transfers or the possibility of retirees moving abroad but then withdrawing savings from their country of origin.
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Statista. (December 17, 2022). Top remittance sending countries and territories in Middle East and Central Asia, outflow by receiving region in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388182/top-remittance-outflow-countries-in-middle-east/
Statista. "Top remittance sending countries and territories in Middle East and Central Asia, outflow by receiving region in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars)." Chart. December 17, 2022. Statista. Accessed December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388182/top-remittance-outflow-countries-in-middle-east/
Statista. (2022). Top remittance sending countries and territories in Middle East and Central Asia, outflow by receiving region in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388182/top-remittance-outflow-countries-in-middle-east/
Statista. "Top Remittance Sending Countries and Territories in Middle East and Central Asia, Outflow by Receiving Region in 2021 (in Million U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 17 Dec 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388182/top-remittance-outflow-countries-in-middle-east/
Statista, Top remittance sending countries and territories in Middle East and Central Asia, outflow by receiving region in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388182/top-remittance-outflow-countries-in-middle-east/ (last visited December 21, 2024)
Top remittance sending countries and territories in Middle East and Central Asia, outflow by receiving region in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph], Statista, December 17, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388182/top-remittance-outflow-countries-in-middle-east/
