India topped as the highest recipient of remittances globally in 2017, with its diaspora sending back USD 69 billion, a World Bank statement in April has said. “Remittance inflows improved in all regions and the top remittance recipients were India with USD 69 billion, followed by China (USD 64 billion), the Philippines (USD 33 billion), Mexico (USD 31 billion), Nigeria (USD 22 billion), and Egypt (USD 20 billion),” the statement said. Remittances to India rose sharply by 9.9 percent in 2017, reversing the previous year’s sharp decline, the report added. Global remittances are expected grow 4.6 percent to USD 642 billion in 2018, the statement said.

Remittances to low and middle-income countries rebounded to a record level in 2017 after two consecutive years of decline, says the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief. “The overall recovery in remittances is better than we expected. It is driven by stronger growth in the European Union, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The rebound in remittances, when valued in US dollars, was helped by higher oil prices and a strengthening of the euro and ruble,” said Dilip Ratha, lead economist at the World Bank in his blog.