Top Receivers of Migrant Remittances In 2007

Migrant remittances, long a staple of the international economy, continue to be a "cash cow" for many nations. A recent report from the World Bank indicates that the global remittance transfer market is alive and well.

For 2007, the nations receiving the highest dollar value of remittances from foreign-workers were.

1. India ($27 billion)
2. China ($25.7 billion)
3. Mexico ($25 billion)
4. Philippines ($17 billion)
5. France ($12.5 billion)

Remittances by foreign-workers to the home nation are not officially included as a measure of a nation's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), although surely, it is exactly that. From an economic perspective one can think of foreign-worker remittances as Peer2Peer investment.

Whereas FDI is a measure of the amount of foreign direct investment flowing to a nation, remittances are cash transfers from workers in foreign countries to people in the home nation. FDI is predominantly a B2B (Business to Business) or B2G (Business to Government) phenomenon, while remittances are predominantly a P2P (Peer to Peer) phenomenon. This raises the prospect of an interesting global economic question... what percentage of remittances are used by individuals in the home nation as personal investment capital?

Also, is it a coincidence that India & China are at the top of the remittance list, and are also two of the globe's fastest growing economies?

It's interesting to note that France is 5th on the list, as it is by far the most developed nation within the Top 5. The other four nations in the Top 5 are well-known for exporting workers, but France is not a nation that immediately comes to mind, when one thinks of a source of foreign-workers.

Where might all these French workers be plying their trades?

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21692926~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html