According to the latest Migration and Development Brief No.22, official remittance inflows to Nepal reached 24.7% of GDP in 2012, which makes Nepal the third largest remittance recipient in the world. Migrants remitted an estimated US$5.2 billion to Nepal in 2013 (equivalent to about 25% of GDP). The amount of remittance outflows was just US$50.3 million in 2012.
The average growth of remittance inflows over the last five years has been around 14%, boosted by both the increased number of migrant workers leaving the country and the higher incentives to send more money back home as a result of the depreciation of Nepali rupee against major convertible currencies. Increased remittance inflows are greatly boosting banking sector liquidity in FY2014, leading to a situation where BFIs are increasingly investing in near zero interest bearing T-bills in the absence of good investment projects. More on remittances in Nepal here and here.
Top remittance recipients
As a share of GDP in 2012, the top five remittance recipients were Tajikistan (51.9%), Kyrgyz Republic (31.4%), Nepal (24.7%), Moldova (24.6%) and Samoa (23.5%). In 2010, Nepal was the sixth highest remittance recipient in the world.
In US$ term, India received $70 billion in 2013, followed by China ($60 billion), the Philippines ($25 billion), Mexico ($22 billion) and Nigeria ($21 billion).
In South Asia, while India received the highest amount of remittances, Nepal was the highest recipient as a share of its GDP. As a share of total remittance inflows to South Asia, India receives about 63.2% and Nepal 4.7%.
| Remittance inflows | 2013e (US$ million) | Share of GDP, 2012 |
| Nepal | 5,210 | 24.7 |
| Bangladesh | 13,776 | 12.2 |
| Sri Lanka | 6,690 | 10.1 |
| Pakistan | 14,626 | 6.1 |
| India | 69,969 | 3.7 |
| Bhutan | 19 | 1.0 |
| Maldives | 3 | 0.1 |
| Afghanistan | 385 | .. |
Outlook
- The WB estimates remittance inflows to development countries at $404 billion in 2013, up 3.5% from 2012. It is expected to grow by an annual average of 8.4%, increasing total remittance inflow to developing countries to $436 billion, $473 billion and $516 billion in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.
- South Asia is expected to see remittances growth of 6.6%, 7.3%, and 7.5% in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively, increasing remittance inflows to $118 billion, 127 billion and 136 billion over the same time periods.
