Facts
40 EXPORT SUPPORT
Facts
Sending
Money Overseas
Ethnic minority communities
in the UK send an estimated £ 2.3 billion a year to loved ones in more than 50 developing countries,
including over £ 300 million to India and £ 200 million to
Pakistan. The next biggest recipients are Nigeria, Jamaica and Ghana. l Some 35 per cent of British ethnic minority households send money.
l Black Africans are the most likely to send money, while Asian households send the biggest amounts.
l Of those who send money, the average amount is £ 870 per year.
l The average income of senders is £ 22,000 and 70 per cent are aged 25-44.
l Almost half are sending money to parents, 15 per cent to spouses and children, and 25 percent to other close relatives. Others send money to friends or other contacts.
l Nearly a third of the money is used to buy food, 21 per cent for medical bills and 17 per cent to help pay for schooling.
l Globally, the World Bank estimates that more than US $ 220 billion worth of remittances were sent to developing countries in 2006. l India is the world’ s biggest recipient of remittances, estimated at £ 10 billion a year. Remittances through formal channels to Pakistan were an estimated £ 3 billion in 2007.
l For many poor countries, remittances are a bigger source of money than investment by overseas companies. For example, Ghana receives 10-15 per cent of its national income from remittances, and around 3 per cent from foreign investment.
l Remittances also play an increasingly important role in the aftermath of natural disasters. Formal remittances to Pakistan increased by some £ 90 million following the devastating earthquake that hit Kashmir in October 2005.
Source: Department for International Development( DFID), January 2008 engage | uk ISSUE SIX 2008