Robust remittances are witnessed in MENA territory specifically, Egypt as well as Morocco.
As stated by the World Bank in their latest report, the Remittance flows for MENA territory to get upsurged by 2.3 percent to touch base of about $56 Billion within 2020, as an outcome of robust remittance outflow to Egypt and Morroco.
Flows to Egypt improved 11 percent to a record high of approximately $30 billion in 2020, while movements to Morocco upsurged 6.5 percent. Also registering an intensification was Tunisia (2.5 percent). In contrast, other economies in the territory suffered huge shortfalls in 2020, with Djibouti, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan posting double-digit declines, as according to WB’s (World Bank’s) latest Migration and Development Brief.
As, according to the up-to-date Migration and Development Brief, globally, despite the aftermath of the Covid-19, remittance flows persisted to be robust in 2020, recording a slighter slump down than formerly projected. Officially recorded remittance movements to low- and middle-income nations touched $540 billion in 2020, just 1.6 percent beneath the 2019 total of $548 billion.
In 2021, remittances to the territory are expected to nurture 2.6 percent due to moderate progress in the euro area and weak outflows from the GCC nations.
Remittance budgets: The budget of distribution of the $200 to the territory slumped down slightly in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 6.6 percent. Budgets varied significantly across corridors: The Budget of distribution money from high-income nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to Lebanon persisted very huge, mostly in the double digits. On the other hand, distribution of the money from GCC nations to Egypt and Jordan budgeted around 3 percent in some territories.
Inward remittance movements to South Asia upsurge by about 5.2 percent in 2020 to $147 billion, motivated by surge in flows to Bangladesh and Pakistan. In India, the territory’s largest recipient nation by far, remittances fell by just 0.2 percent in 2020, with much of the decline due to a 17 percent drop in remittances from the United Arab Emirates, which counterbalance resilient flows from the United States and other host nations.
Michal Rutkowski, Global Director of the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank, stated that; “As Covid-19 still devastates families around the world, remittances continue to provide a critical lifeline for the poor and vulnerable. Supportive policy responses, together with national social protection systems, should continue to be inclusive of all communities, including migrants.”
Dilip Ratha, lead author of the report on migration and remittances and head of KNOMAD stated out that; “The resilience of remittance flows is remarkable. Remittances are helping to meet families’ increased need for livelihood support. They can no longer be treated as small change. The World Bank has been monitoring migration and remittance flows for nearly two decades, and we are working with governments and partners to produce timely data and make remittance flows even more productive.”
In Pakistan, remittances mounted by about 17 percent, with the major progress coming from Saudi Arabia surveyed by the European Union nations and the United Arab Emirates. In Bangladesh, remittances also displayed a brisk uptick in 2020 (18.4 percent), and Sri Lanka witnessed remittance progress of 5.8 percent. In contrast, remittances to Nepal fell by about 2 percent, displaying a 17 percent weakening in the first quarter of 2020.
For 2021, it is anticipated that remittances to the territory will be sluggish to some extent to 3.5 percent due to a restraint of development in high-income economies and a further anticipated drop in migration to the GCC nations. Remittance Budgets: The average rate of sending $200 to the territory stood at 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, the lowest among all the territories.
Some of the lowest-cost corridors, originating in the GCC countries and Singapore, had costs below the SDG target of 3 percent owing to high volumes, competitive markets, and deployment of technology. But costs are well over 10 percent in the highest-cost corridors.
