Remittances to low-income countries nearly double in a decade

Migrants sent €669 billion ($728.6 billion) home to low- and middle-income countries in 2025, nearly double the 2016 figure, per a new IFAD report. The 94% growth far outpaced the 28% rise in the number of migrants, meaning each migrant is sending more money. The report warns that deportations or weaker labour demand could hit vulnerable regions like Central America.

Bottom line — IFAD says remittance flows now dwarf official aid and FDI to low-income countries combined.

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• The 220 million migrants and diaspora members support an estimated 1.1 billion relatives, per IFAD’s Pedro de Vasconcellos.
• Latin America and the Caribbean saw the fastest regional growth, up 132% to €155 billion ($168.6 billion), driven largely by the US as a source, IFAD reports.
• Asia-Pacific remains the largest recipient region at €353 billion ($384.9 billion), or 53% of the global total, the report states.
• In Africa, remittances hit €114 billion ($124.2 billion), with Egypt overtaking Nigeria as the continent’s top recipient, per IFAD.
• Central America is highly exposed: remittances equalled 30% of Honduras’s GDP, 28% of El Salvador’s and 27% of Nicaragua’s in 2025, according to the report.
• A study cited by IFAD found 61% of returnees surveyed in Guatemala had been the main household earner, meaning forced return can cut family income abruptly.
• About €214 billion ($233 billion) – roughly one-third of all flows – reached rural economies, where access to jobs and services is weakest, per IFAD.
• More than half of remittances now begin digitally, but only 35% of services are fully digital from sender to recipient, the report notes.
• Digital transfers cost an average of 4.6% per transaction, versus 7.3% for non-digital services, according to IFAD data.
• Asked whether US and European migration crackdowns are visible in the data, de Vasconcellos said figures do not yet show a reduction, with family needs keeping flows resilient.

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