Remittances to LMICs Overtake FDI for First Time

Remittances overtook foreign direct investment in low- and middle-income countries for the first time in 2022. This is according to World Bank data, which is also published in the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) 2024 World Migration Report, released on Tuesday. International remittances are defined as money sent from workers living abroad to their home countries.

Total global remittances rose from $68 billion in 1990 to $791 billion in 2022. As with previous years, much of this ($614 billion) was received by low- and middle-income countries. Since the mid-1990s, remittance has also greatly surpassed Official Development Assistance, i.e. government aid designed to "promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries."

The writers of the IOM report highlight that the World Bank’s global data on international remittances does not take into account unrecorded flows through formal or informal channels. This means the data provided is likely below the actual figures.