Remittances have continued to maintain their strong impetus of remaining above $2 billion since June 2020.
Money sent home by overseas Pakistani workers grew by 3.4 percent to US$2.52 billion in December 2021, said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday.
This resulted in the increase of total remittances to $31 billion in the whole calendar year of 2021 or a 19 percent hike from $26 billion in the year 2020.
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On a monthly basis, the inflows increased 2.5% as compared to $2.46 billion recorded in November 2021.
Highest ever remittances of $ 31.0bn during CY21, up by 19% YoY
— Arif Habib Limited (@ArifHabibLtd) January 14, 2022
KSA: $ 7.7bn, +5% YoY
UAE: $ 6.2bn, +6% YoY
UK: $ 4.3bn, +35% YoY
EU: $ 3.2bn, +48% YoY
USA: $ 3.0bn, +43% YoY@StateBank_Pak @Hammad_Azhar @aliya_hamza @MuzzammilAslam3#Remittances #SBP #Pakistan #Economy #AHL pic.twitter.com/Kti1kZihfY
Cumulatively, remittances grew by 11.3% during the first half of FY22 to be at $15.8 billion, as compared to $14.20 billion received over the same period last year.
In terms of country sources, the Saudi Arabia posted the highest share of overall inflows at 25 percent in 2021, followed by United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America.
The combined remittances from these top 4 countries accounted for 68.7 percent of total cash remittances during the period.
“Proactive policy measures by the government and SBP to incentivise the use of formal channels and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the pandemic have positively contributed towards the sustained inflows of remittances since last year,” said the SBP.