Vanuatu: Personal remittances, paid (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Vanuatu's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 143.6% on 2021 (from US$7.82 million to US$19.06 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +9.1% and a typical year strayed about 49.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 193.6% in 1996 and the biggest yearly fall was 86.7% in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$1.47 million a year. A straight line explains 64% 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 41 values

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

• Australia — US$15.96 billion (2025)
• Cambodia — US$345.64 million (2025)
• China — US$14.04 billion (2025)
• Fiji — US$13.13 million (2024)
• French Polynesia — US$22.66 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$1.15 billion (2025)
• Indonesia — US$11.68 billion (2025)
• Japan — US$7.17 billion (2025)
• Kiribati — US$1.08 million (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — US$14.31 billion (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Vanuatu

• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$153.1 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$118.44 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$150.05 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$150.05 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$150.05 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (constant 2023 US$) — US$150.05 million (2023)
• Net ODA received per capita (current US$) — US$468.32 (2023)
• Technical cooperation grants (BoP, current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Vanuatu's personal remittances, paid (current US$)?

US$19.06 million in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1982?

It is up 11.52% from US$17.09 million in 1982 (0.27% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$33.63 million in 1996 and the lowest US$2.15 million in 2002.

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

In 2022, Vanuatu's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 143.6% on 2021 (from US$7.82 million to US$19.06 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +9.1% and a typical year strayed about 49.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

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 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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