Saturday, 08 April 2023 16:05

Remittances to Central America to reach US$38.9 billion in 2022

Written by Evelyn Alas

According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), remittances received by Central American countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) during 2022 will reach US$38.9 billion, marking a new historical high with an annual growth of 16.1%, the highest among all LAC sub-regions in 2022 and still high compared to the average values of 10.4% during the previous ten years.

Further growth is related to the evolution of the U.S. economy in 2023, since 84.3% of remittances received by these countries come from the United States.

Remesas familiares alcanzaron US$406.9 millones en enero

The observed growth in remittances corresponds to the process of economic recovery and the return to normalcy of the U.S. economy, from which 96.0% of remittances to the United States originate.

In 2022, migrants sent US$142.325 billion to Latin American and Caribbean countries. In that year, and as an effect of the post-pandemic recovery from the low growth of 2020, remittances had the highest growth in the last 20 years. In 2022 we see growth rates that are still high, but lower than those observed a year earlier.

Remesa Transferencia De Dinero Vectores Libres de Derechos - iStock

Thus, remittances received by Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries in 2022 showed a growth of 11.6% over the values observed a year earlier.

This increase is less than half of what was recorded in 2021 (25.9%), falling at the lower end of what was anticipated in our publication last June, but higher than the average of the last 10 years (8.4%). The growth of remittances in 2022 meant an additional inflow of resources of US$15,072 million over the previous year for families in the region.

Remesas Familiares – Monitor de Noticias Económicas – MONEC

Remittances are fundamental for millions of families around the world and one of the main reasons for migration in Latin America and the Caribbean. For this reason, the IDB's Migration Unit has been monitoring these flows.

 

Translated by: A.M