November 11, 2010 - 14:14 AMT
WB: remittances from labor migrants to Armenia to reach $824mln in 2010

Remittances to developing countries were a resilient source of external financing during the recent global financial crisis, with recorded flows expected to reach $325 billion by the end of this year, up from $307 billion in 2009, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011. Worldwide, remittance flows are expected to reach $440 billion by the end of this year.

The World Bank estimates that, after recovering by the end of this year, recorded remittances to developing countries will rise further in 2011 and 2012, possibly exceeding $370 billion in two years’ time.

The top remittance sending countries in 2009 were the United States, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Russia, and Germany. Worldwide, the top recipient countries in 2010 are India, China, Mexico, the Philippines, and France. As a share of GDP, however, remittances are more significant for smaller countries - more than 25 percent in some countries.

According to the Factbook 2011, the top migrant destination country is the United States, followed by Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. The top immigration countries relative to population are Qatar (87 percent), Monaco (72 percent), the United Arab Emirates (70 percent), Kuwait (69 percent), and Andorra (64 percent).

According to the WB forecasts, the volume of remittances from labor migrants to Armenia will reach $824mln in 2010 against $769mln and $1062mln in 2009 and 2008 respectively.