Indian expatriates sent the maximum amount of remittances back home from the United Arab Emirates during the third quarter of 2017, according to UAE Central Bank figures released earlier this week. Foreign residents in total sent Dh121.1 billion to home countries between January and September 2017. During the third quarter of the year, Dh43.3 billion was sent by expats to their home countries, of which Indians sent Dh15.46 billion.
The total remittances sent during January-September 2017 were 2.1 per cent higher than the amount sent during the same period last year, which was Dh118.6 billion. In the last quarter, the amount of money forwarded by expatriates to their home countries increased to Dh43.3 billion, an increase of 14.1 per cent from Dh37.9 billion during the same period last year.
Saudi Arabia is the top source of remittances for India. The fall in price of oil per barrel to $25 was blamed for the fall in remittances but the increase in price of oil coupled with an increase in number of Indian migrant workers in the country could lead to a significant rise in remittances in 2017.
Indians sent home $62.7 billion in 2016, surpassing China, according to a UN report. India was on the second spot in 2007, with $37.2 billion in remittances as compared to $38.4 billion for China.
India was the top recipient of remittances in 2015, according to Pew Research Centre, with $69 billion coming into the country during the year. The amount fell by over $6 billion in 2016 compared to 2015, due to fall in oil prices and slow economic growth in the Gulf. However, India still retained its top recipient position in 2016 and is expected to do so in 2017 too.
With 55 per cent global remittance flow and 41 per cent total migrants, Asia is the main remittance-receiving region. It is expected that an estimated $6.5 trillion in remittances will be sent to low and middle-income countries between 2015 and 2030.