St. Lucia: Personal remittances, paid (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, St. Lucia's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 2.7% on 2024 (from US$15.74 million to US$16.17 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +20.8% and a typical year strayed about 88.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 434.6% in 2005 and the biggest yearly fall was 61% in 1997. 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 downward, about US$697,792 a year. A straight line explains 50% 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

In 2025, St. Lucia had the 127th highest value of the 133 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 St. Lucia in the 2025 ranking

• St. Kitts and Nevis — 123rd of 133: US$26.9 million
• Burundi — 124th of 133: US$22.36 million
• Sudan — 125th of 133: US$21.18 million
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 127th of 133: US$14.99 million
• Dominica — 128th of 133: US$9.04 million
• São Tomé and Principe — 129th of 133: US$4.63 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 43 values

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

• Antigua and Barbuda — US$36.34 million (2025)
• Argentina — US$842.5 million (2025)
• Aruba — US$116.05 million (2023)
• Bahamas, The — US$320.92 million (2024)
• Barbados — US$48.76 million (2017)
• Belize — US$45.89 million (2025)
• Bolivia — US$140.53 million (2025)
• Brazil — US$1.86 billion (2025)
• Chile — US$691.34 million (2025)
• Colombia — US$429.16 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for St. Lucia

• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 3.3% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (current US$) — US$227,130 (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$35.85 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$35.85 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$35.85 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (constant 2023 US$) — US$35.85 million (2023)
• Net ODA received per capita (current US$) — US$199.96 (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is St. Lucia's personal remittances, paid (current US$)?

US$16.17 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1982?

It is up 3,134% from US$500,000 in 1982 (8.42% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$21.84 million in 2016 and the lowest US$500,000 in 1982.

How does St. Lucia rank?

127th highest of 133 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, paid (current US$) unusual for St. Lucia?

In 2025, St. Lucia's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 2.7% on 2024 (from US$15.74 million to US$16.17 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +20.8% and a typical year strayed about 88.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 BM.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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