Romanians living abroad sent to their families at home USD 4.944 billion last year, a record high number, up 41.7 percent compared with 2016, due mainly to stronger growth and employment prospects in source countries, but also to the the appreciation of the euro against the dollar, World Bank said in a report.
In 2016, Romanian migrants, mostly living in richer European countries like Italy, Spain, Germany and UK, sent home USD 3.489 billion, up 13 percent from the previous year (USD 3.085 billion).
World Bank series show Romanians living abroad sent USD 22.9 billion in Romania during the last ten years (2008-2017), equivalent to around 10 percent of the GDP in 2017.
In Europe, Romania is the third largest remittance recipient, after Russia and Ukraine.
“The two largest remittance recipients in the ECA region in 2017, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, saw robust growth in remittance inflows (…). Key reasons are the appreciation of the euro and ruble against the dollar as well as a low base following a nearly 22 percent decline in 2015 alone,” the report said.
Additional factors are stronger growth and employment prospects in source countries, according to the World Bank.
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