Remittances

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the value of remittances as a percentage of the gross domestic product of each country which receives support from his Department in each year since 2005. (301221)

The World Bank is the leading source of reliable data on remittances. However, there is no information for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Iraq. The available information for the years 2005-08 is as follows:

*Remittances as a share of GDP*
Percentage
	2005	2006	2007	2008
Ethiopia	1.41	1.30	1.80	1.50
Ghana	0.90	0.80	0.80	0.80
Kenya	4.30	5.30	5.45	4.90
Malawi	0.03	0.04	0.03	0.00
Mozambique	0.90	1.10	1.25	1.20
Nigeria	2.96	2.90	6.66	4.70
Rwanda	0.90	0.80	1.86	1.20
Sierra Leone	0.16	2.40	9.44	7.70
Sudan	4.22	3.10	3.80	5.30
Tanzania	0.12	0.10	0.08	0.10
Uganda	4.60	8.70	7.23	3.40
Zambia	0.74	0.50	0.48	0.50
Bangladesh	7.20	8.80	9.55	11.40
India	2.60	2.80	3.09	4.20
Nepal	14.90	18.00	15.50	21.60
Pakistan	3.90	4.00	4.20	4.20
Cambodia	3.10	4.10	4.20	3.40
Vietnam	7.60	7.90	7.90	7.90
Yemen	7.60	6.70	6.08	5.30
Jamaica	16.00	18.50	19.30	14.50
Guyana	25.30	24.30	23.50	24.00

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he made of the amount of remittances sent (a) in total, (b) to Pakistan and (c) to Nigeria in the latest year for which figures are available. (301314)

Total global remittances are estimated at $444 billion in 2008, of which $338 billion flowed to developing countries.

Remittances to Pakistan totalled $7.0 billion in 2008.

Remittances to Nigeria totalled $10.0 billion in 2008.

Data Source:

The World Bank

Volume 501: debated on Thursday 26 November 2009