India continues to remain as the world’s highest recipient of remittance from abroad, with its diaspora sending back $78.6 billion in 2018. The 17.5 million-strong Indian diaspora, the largest in the world, makes 11.4% of the global remittance figure of $689 billion, reports Times of India.
According to the World Migration Report 2020, which was released on Wednesday by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), India has received $78.61 billion remittances in 2018, an increase of 14 per cent compared to 2015 in which India had received $68.91 billion. Remittances during 2010 were $53.48 billion, rising to $78.61 in 2018, an increase of nearly 47%.
China, which is next to India as per the data, received $67.41 billion, which is 9.8% of the global remittance figure. Mexico stands in third place with $35.7 billion, an increase in nearly 36 per cent in the last four years.
Reportedly, High-income countries have always been the largest source of remittances for developing and emerging economies. The US has consistently been the top remittance-sending country, with a total outflow of $68 billion, followed by UAE with $44.4 billion and Saudi Arabia with $36.1 billion, the report states.
According to the Times of India, Indian diaspora which is at 17.5 million was the largest in the world during 2019. Indian diaspora is highest in the UAE (3.4 million), followed by the US (2.7 million) and Saudi Arabia (2.4 million). Mexico’s diaspora of 11.8 million was the second largest, followed by China at 10.7 million.