South Asia (IDA & IBRD): Personal remittances, received (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, South Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s personal remittances, received (current US$) rose 13.3% on 2024 (from US$183.29 billion to US$207.6 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +11.6% and a typical year strayed about 11.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 94.7% in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.9% in 1984. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$12.12 billion a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 51 values

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

• Afghanistan — US$788.92 million (2020)
• Algeria — US$1.69 billion (2025)
• Djibouti — US$56 million (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$41.52 billion (2025)
• Iraq — US$757 million (2025)
• Israel — US$1.16 billion (2025)
• Jordan — US$4.43 billion (2024)
• Kuwait — US$23.93 million (2025)
• Lebanon — US$6.7 billion (2023)
• Malta — US$15.66 million (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for South Asia (IDA & IBRD)

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$465.69 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$375.66 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 10.17% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$2.69 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.54 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,504 (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is South Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s personal remittances, received (current US$)?

US$207.6 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is up 47,249% from US$438.45 million in 1975 (13.11% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$207.6 billion in 2025 and the lowest US$438.45 million in 1975.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, received (current US$) unusual for South Asia (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2025, South Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s personal remittances, received (current US$) rose 13.3% on 2024 (from US$183.29 billion to US$207.6 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +11.6% and a typical year strayed about 11.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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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