- published: 30 Oct 2014
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A remittance is a transfer of money by a foreign worker to his or her home country.
Money sent home by migrants constitutes the second largest financial inflow to many developing countries, exceeding international aid. Estimates of remittances to developing countries vary from International Fund for Agricultural Development's US$301 billion (including informal flows) to the World Bank's US$250 billion for 2006 (excluding informal flows). Remittances contribute to economic growth and to the livelihoods of people worldwide[citation needed]. Moreover, remittance transfers can also promote access to financial services for the sender and recipient, thereby increasing financial and social inclusion[citation needed]. Remittances also foster, in the receiving countries, a further economic dependence on the global economy instead of building sustainable, local economies.[citation needed]
Remittances are playing an increasingly large role in the economies of many countries, contributing to economic growth and to the livelihoods of less prosperous people (though generally not the poorest of the poor). According to World Bank estimates, remittances totaled US$414 billion in 2009, of which US$316 billion went to developing countries that involved 192 million migrant workers. For some individual recipient countries, remittances can be as high as a third of their GDP. As remittance receivers often have a higher propensity to own a bank account, remittances promote access to financial services for the sender and recipient, an essential aspect of leveraging remittances to promote economic development. The top recipients in terms of the share of remittances in GDP included many smaller economies such as Tajikistan (45%), Moldova (38%), and Honduras (25%).