Tuesday, 17 May 2022 02:17

El Salvador has the highest amount of remittances in Latin America: World Bank

Written by Evelyn Alas

Remittances to El Salvador, mainly from the United States, have the greatest amount of remittances in the national economy compared to all of Latin America, revealed the study "Reviews on Migration and Development" presented by the World Bank.

Until 2021, remittances represented 26.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is 7.5 billion above the Latin American average of 25%.

In addition, the amount of remittances in El Salvador is above its Central American peers that are recipients, such as Guatemala with 18.8% and Honduras with 25.5% of GDP.

According to the World Bank, remittance flows from Latin America, reached US$131 billion in 2021 and by 2022 with better job prospects in the U.S. market, remittance flows are expected to continue growing at more conservative rates of 9.1%.

In addition, the bank points out that the recorded flows to Mexico include funds received by migrants in transit from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba and other countries.

The bank estimates that remittances will grow by 9.1%, although downside risks persist. Overall, the average cost to send US$200 to the region remained at 5.6 % during the fourth quarter of 2021, unchanged from the percentage recorded a year earlier.