Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023Remittances to ALC 2023
Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean continued to grow in 2023 at a rate consistent with medium-term trends observed in the period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Projections based on statistics published by central banks, during 2023 Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) received 155 billion dollars in remittances, which constitutes an annual growth rate of 9.5%.
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Remittances to LAC set a new record in 2023

Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean will reach US$155 billion in 2023 according to projections based on statistics from the central banks of the region. It is the 13th year of uninterrupted growth. Although the analysis by country shows more variation, remittances to the region have grown every year this century with the exception of 2009 during the global financial crisis. México remains the principal recipient of remittances in the region, with 41.2% of the total sent to LAC. Central America received 28.2% of regional remittances income, the Caribbean accounted for 11.7%, and South America 18.9%.

Annual Volume of Remittances
Source
■ Data are MIG calculations based on data from central banks. GDP numbers are from the IMF WEO.
Historical growth of remittances
Source
■ Data are MIG calculations based on data from central banks. GDP numbers are from the IMF WEO.
As the effect of COVID-19 recedes, remittances growth in 2023 consolidated its long-term pace

The growth in 2023 of 9.5% is in line with the average rate of the past 10 years (8.4%), down from the rate in 2022. Remittances to Mexico increased 9.8%, to Central America 13.2%, and to the Caribbean grew 2.6%. Remittances to South America grew 7.9%, mainly due to substantial increases to Argentina (26.3%) and Paraguay (20.3%) sparked by the significant devaluations of the Argentine currency.

Importance for national economies

On average, remittances to LAC were equivalent to only 2.5% of GDP in 2023, unchanged from 2022. But for many countries in the region, remittances represent much higher fractions of the economy. Central America and the Caribbean average 12.7% and 9.4%, respectively, reaching 27.3% in Honduras and 20.6% in Jamaica, for example. In Mexico, despite being the main recipient country, remittances equate to only 3.9% of GDP, and in South America the average is only 0.7%.

Remittances relative to Gross Product
Source
■ Data are MIG calculations based on data from central banks. GDP numbers are from the IMF WEO.
Origins of remittances (percentage by region of origin)

Flows of remittances will be affected by the economic conditions in the countries that host the diaspora from each country. Although many countries do not publish remittances statistics by country of origin, estimates are presented below of the distribution of origins for each country based on statistics from 2022. In most countries, especially Mexico and Central America, high percentages of remittances come from the United States, while there are more significant percentages originating from Europe, especially in South America.

For a detailed analysis of remittances flows to the region in 2023

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