Timor-Leste: Personal remittances, received (current US$)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 98.17% from US$95.85 million in 2020 (14.66% a year on average, compounded). Since 2006 it is up 5,115% from US$3.64 million in 2006 (23.14% a year on average, compounded).

What the numbers say

In 2025, Timor-Leste's personal remittances, received (current US$) fell 13.5% on 2024 (from US$219.57 million to US$189.95 million).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2024), the average change was +53.3% and a typical year strayed about 132.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 542% in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 71.9% in 2013. 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$16.14 million a year. A straight line explains 84% 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, Timor-Leste had the 110th highest value of the 131 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 Timor-Leste in the 2025 ranking

• Iceland — 107th of 131: US$264.63 million
• Kazakhstan — 108th of 131: US$236.76 million
• Trinidad and Tobago — 109th of 131: US$199.56 million
• Suriname — 111th of 131: US$176.13 million
• Macao SAR, China — 112th of 131: US$173.82 million
• Botswana — 113th of 131: US$164.89 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 20 values

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

• Australia — US$2.01 billion (2025)
• Cambodia — US$2.2 billion (2025)
• China — US$30 billion (2025)
• Fiji — US$424.19 million (2024)
• French Polynesia — US$581.56 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$478.55 million (2025)
• Indonesia — US$17.6 billion (2025)
• Japan — US$4.73 billion (2025)
• Kiribati — US$22.61 million (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — US$7.07 billion (2025)
• Lao PDR — US$472.99 million (2025)
• Macao SAR, China — US$173.82 million (2025)
• Malaysia — US$8.94 billion (2025)
• Marshall Islands — US$66.91 million (2024)
• Mongolia — US$557.69 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Timor-Leste

• Short-term debt (% of total external debt) — 0.43% (2024)
• IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, current US$) — −US$750,000 (2024)
• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 3.19% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$221.69 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (constant 2023 US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net ODA received per capita (current US$) — US$187.78 (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$225.78 million (2023)
• Technical cooperation grants (BoP, current US$) — US$38.3 million (2023)
• GDP (current US$) — US$1.9 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 1.9 billion (2025)
• GDP, linked series (current LCU) — 1.9 billion (2025)

Every indicator for Timor-Leste is on the Timor-Leste data page.

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Timor-Leste's personal remittances, received (current US$)?

US$189.95 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is up 5,115% from US$3.64 million in 2006 (23.14% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$219.57 million in 2024 and the lowest US$3.64 million in 2006.

How does Timor-Leste rank?

110th highest of 131 economies with data for 2025.

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

In 2025, Timor-Leste's personal remittances, received (current US$) fell 13.5% on 2024 (from US$219.57 million to US$189.95 million). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2024), the average change was +53.3% and a typical year strayed about 132.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IMF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).

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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