An important part of the World Bank's work on migration and remittances involves efforts to monitor and forecast remittance and migration flows, and to provide timely analysis on topics such as remittances, migration, and diaspora issues.

Migration & Remittances Factbook 2008

March 2008 | Press Release

A snapshot of migration and remittances data for all countries, regions and income groups of the world, compiled from available data from various sources.

Update: The latest remittance data is available here (March 2009).

Online Version in
English |  Français |  Español |  русский | العربية


Event Audio: The Role of Migration in Globalization & the Factbook Launch
March 19, 2008. Washington D.C.

Revised Outlook for Remittance Flows 2009-2011: Remittances expected to fall by 5 to 8 percent in 2009

March 2009

Revised forecasts for remittance flows to developing countries in the light of a downward revision to the World Bank's global economic outlook suggest a sharper decline of 5 to 8 percent in 2009 compared to our earlier projections. This decline in nominal dollar terms is small relative to the projected fall in private capital flows or official aid to developing countries. However, considering that remittances registered double-digit annual growth in the past few years, an outright fall in the level of remittance flows as projected now will cause hardships in many poor countries.

Download PDF (172 KB) | Excel Data for Brief (256 KB)

Blog posts: Latest 2008 data | 2009 Forecasts | Crisis and Africa 
Speak Out: Lead Economist Dilip Ratha participated in a live online discussion on the latest remittance forecast and other migration and development issues on April 8, 2009 at 10a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. You can read the entire transcript here.
 

"Brain Drain" and the Global Mobility of High-Skilled Talent
September 2008

This note outlines the challenges of retaining and attracting high-skilled professionals, briefly assesses both the "brain gain" and the "brain drain" in the health sector, and examines some of the existing programs that encourage return. It provides an overview of the role of the diaspora in fostering the transfer of knowledge, technology, capital, and remittances.

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Managing Migration: Lessons from the Philippines
August 2008

This note describes how the Philippine government helps its migrants by regulating overseas employment recruitment, informing migrants of available resources abroad, providing protection, and developing recording mechanisms to understand migrants' needs. Managing migration also comes with a price and governments need to develop a coordinated strategy to sustain such endeavors.

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Beyond Aid: New Sources and Innovative Mechanisms for Financing Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
April 2008

The development community has little choice but to continue to explore new sources of financing, innovative private-to-private sector solutions, and public-private partnerships to mobilize additional international financing. An analysis of country creditworthiness suggests that many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa may be more creditworthy than previously believed. Preliminary estimates suggest that Sub-Saharan African countries can potentially raise $1-3 billion by reducing the cost of international migrant remittances, $5-10 billion by issuing diaspora bonds, and $17 billion by securitizing future remittances and other future receivables.

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Feature Story: New Ways to Finance Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Remittances Dispatch: US dollar depreciation and remittance flows to developing countries
March 2008

Currency appreciation and rising costs of living have eroded the purchasing power of recipients in the major remittance-receiving countries. Preliminary estimates suggest that in the Philippines, over 90 percent of the increase in remittances between 2004 and 2007 went simply towards preserving the purchasing power of recipients, while in Mexico and India, the increase in remittances after accounting for currency appreciation and domestic inflation was less than half of the increase in US dollar terms.

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International Migration and Technological Progress
February 2008

International migrants are an important channel for the transmission of technology and knowledge. The so-called “brain drain” associated with better educated citizens of developing countries working in high-income countries is acute in some developing countries. Developing countries benefit, however, from the temporary migration of managers and engineers; the return of well-educated emigrants; and contact with a technologically sophisticated diaspora. Remittances sent by migrants also promote technology diffusion by making investments more affordable. 

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Remittances, Consumption and Investment in Ghana
February 2008

This paper uses a new, nationally-representative household survey from Ghana to analyze within a rigorous econometric framework how the receipt of internal remittances (from within Ghana) and international remittances (from African or other countries) affects the marginal spending behavior of households on a broad range of consumption and investment goods, including food, education and housing. The findings show that households receiving remittances in Ghana do not spend more at the margin on food, education and housing than households with similar income levels and characteristics that do not receive remittances.

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Development Finance via Diaspora Bonds: Track Record and Potential
August 2007

A diaspora bond is a debt instrument issued by a country - or potentially, a sub-sovereign entity or a private corporation - to raise financing from its overseas diaspora. Israel and India have raised $35-40 billion using these bonds. Drawing on their experiences, this paper discusses the rationale, methodology, and factors affecting the issuance of diaspora bonds for raising external development finance.

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For other ongoing World Bank work on migration and remittances, see  Related Links.