Migrants send or bring back over three times the amount of money provided by global foreign aid. Cutting transaction fees could make this support even more effective in reducing poverty.

Every year, Carlos Hernández Mejía, a 35-year-old research scientist in Amsterdam, sends 3,000 to 4,000 euros to help maintain his mother’s house in Mexico. During the pandemic, he also helped his brother, sending 300 euros a month to cover rent while he was studying.

Carlos is one of 200 million migrants who regularly send back money to support their families and communities.1 These cash transfers reach around 800 million people globally — more than the populations of the United States and the European Union combined.

Imagine a classroom of 30 students representing the world’s population; at least three would get money from remittances — one in ten people.

These payments have quietly become a major force in helping families pay school fees, make repairs to their homes, and cover medical bills.

The World Bank estimates that money sent back by migrants constitutes around two-thirds of what is called “remittances” in global statistics.2 The rest comes from border, seasonal, and other short-term jobs abroad or work with non-resident employers, such as embassies and international organizations.

In this article, we’ll ditch the jargon and refer to remittances as money sent back or brought back by migrants. “Sent back” refers to personal transfers, and “brought back” refers to the compensation of employees.

Migrants send and bring back much more money than the total global foreign aid

Most of this money flows from rich countries to poorer ones

Small sums from rich countries go a long way in poorer nations

How money sent back by migrants improves living conditions around the world

The more money lost to fees, the less families benefit from what migrants send back

...read more at ourworldindata.org