Curaçao: Personal remittances, received (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Curaçao's personal remittances, received (current US$) rose 11.4% on 2022 (from US$158.56 million to US$176.61 million).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2022), the average change was +1.1% and a typical year strayed about 11.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.5% in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 25% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 16% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Curaçao had the 8th highest value of the 11 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Curaçao in the 2023 ranking

• Guyana — 4th of 11: US$545.58 million
• Benin — 5th of 11: US$338.54 million
• Comoros — 6th of 11: US$305.58 million
• Sint Maarten (Dutch part) — 8th of 11: US$48.02 million
• Aruba — 9th of 11: US$38.96 million
• Tuvalu — 10th of 11: US$2.59 million

What this measures

Personal remittances comprise personal transfers and compensation of employees. Personal transfers consist of all current transfers in cash or in kind made or received by resident households to or from nonresident households. Personal transfers thus include all current transfers between resident and nonresident individuals. Compensation of employees refers to the income of border, seasonal, and other short-term workers who are employed in an economy where they are not resident and of residents employed by nonresident entities. Data are the sum of two items defined in the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual: personal transfers and compensation of employees. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Remittance transactions have grown in importance over the past decade. In a number of developing economies, receipts of remittances have become an important and stable source of funds that exceeds receipts from exports of goods and services or from financial inflows on foreign direct investment. But the quality of statistical remittance data is not high. Remittances are a challenge to measure because of their nature. They are heterogeneous with numerous small transactions conducted by individuals through a wide variety of channels: formal channels, such as electronic wire, or through informal channels, such as cash or goods carried across borders.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 13 values

Personal remittances, received (current US$) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — US$22.04 million (2025)
• Argentina — US$922.83 million (2025)
• Aruba — US$38.96 million (2023)
• Barbados — US$85.18 million (2017)
• Belize — US$123.83 million (2025)
• Bolivia — US$1.25 billion (2025)
• Brazil — US$4.76 billion (2025)
• Chile — US$100.29 million (2025)
• Colombia — US$13.13 billion (2025)
• Costa Rica — US$845.52 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Curaçao

• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 4.86% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
• Adjusted savings, energy depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$) — US$9.93 million (2024)
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU) — 17.77 million (2024)
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) — 0.28% (2024)
• Manufacturing, value added (current US$) — US$103.98 million (2024)
• Manufacturing, value added (current LCU) — 186.12 million (2024)
• Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Curaçao's personal remittances, received (current US$)?

US$176.61 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2011?

It is up 17.64% from US$150.13 million in 2011 (1.36% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$176.61 million in 2023 and the lowest US$132.29 million in 2020.

How does Curaçao rank?

8th highest of 11 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, received (current US$) unusual for Curaçao?

In 2023, Curaçao's personal remittances, received (current US$) rose 11.4% on 2022 (from US$158.56 million to US$176.61 million). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2022), the average change was +1.1% and a typical year strayed about 11.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BX.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IMF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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