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Remittances to the Caribbean projected to exceed $400 billion in 2012
A new World Bank report says remittance flows to the Caribbean countries are expected to exceed earlier estimates and total US$406 billion this year, an increase of 6.5 percent over the previous year.
The report said remittances to developing countries are projected to grow by 7.9 percent in 2013, 10.1 percent in 2014 and 10.7 percent in 2015 to reach US$534 billion in 2015.
Worldwide remittances, including those to high-income countries, are expected to total US$534 billion in 2012, and projected to grow to US$685 billion in 2015, according to the latest issue of the Bank’s Migration and Development Brief.
“Although migrant workers are, to a large extent, adversely affected by the slow growth in the global economy, remittance volumes have remained remarkably resilient, providing a vital lifeline to not only poor families but a steady and reliable source of foreign currency in many poor remittances recipient countries,” said Hans Timmer, director of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group.
Remittances to the Caribbean and Latin America are supported by a recovering economy and an improving labor market in the United States but moderated by a weak European economy.
The Caribbean region will see a modest growth of 2.9 percent in 2012, totaling an estimated US$64 billion, Timmer said.
