NEW DELHI: India, with a whopping $69 billion, was the world’s top recipient of remittance from its diaspora in 2017. Of the total remittance, 40 per cent came from Kerala, a World Bank report says.
The countries that followed India in receiving remittances were China, The Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria and Egypt, according to the latest migration report by the World Bank.
The report also pointed out that while remittances to India from its diaspora increased 22 times to $69 billion in 2017 from $3 billion in 1991, indicating a staggering amount of money coming back to India, its proportion to gross domestic product fell 1.2 percentage points to 2.8 per cent in six years to 2017.
The increase in remittances is likely to continue in 2018 due to strong economic conditions in advanced economies (particularly the United States) and an increase in oil prices that should have a positive impact on the Gulf Cooperation Council region (now known as Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf) including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, the report said.