Remittances To Pakistan Expected To Grow By 8% In 2023

Web Desk — World Bank has warned that the remittance outlook for South Asia in 2023 is highly uncertain which means that the strong growth in remittances in the region in 2020 and 2021 can be sustained through 2023.

According to the World Bank’s latest report, foreign remittances in Pakistan are projected to grow by eight percent in 2023, while in India, it is expected to grow by 5pc in 2023 and Bangladesh by 2pc, and for Afghanistan, remittance flows will remain flat.

Remittance flows to Pakistan increased by 20pc in 2021 to $31 billion, while in Bangladesh these grew by only 2.2pc to $22bn. Growth in remittances was powered mainly by government incentives, support from migrants to their families back home, and inflows intended for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The report says that the remittances to Pakistan are likely to grow at 8 percent to $34 billion in 2022. In Bangladesh, except for a 24pc spike in March 2022 to mark the start of Ramazan, monthly remittance growth has been decreasing over the past eight months.

The report says South Asia has the lowest remittance costs of all regions in the world.