Dubai: The amount of money sent home by expatriates in the UAE continued to increase in 2014, with the total value of remittances reaching $29 billion (Dh106 billion), the third highest in the world and ahead of Kuwait, Qatar and other countries.
The amount constitutes 7.3 per cent of the $401 billion (Dh1.47 trillion) gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
Overall, the Indian, Pakistani, Filipino and other expatriates working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries remitted over $100 billion last year, according to a report by Markaz.
The value of remittances from the GCC has been growing from roughly $50 billion in 2010.
“The amount ($100 billion) is an estimated 6.2 per cent of GDP, a significant cost compared to the United States (0.7 per cent) or the United Kingdom,” said Raghu Mandagolathur, CFA and founding member of CFA Society Bahrain and Kuwait.
Expatriates in the United States topped the table in terms of remittance value, at $124 billion. Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia came second, at $44 billion, while UAE expatriates came third.
The majority of the migrant workers in the GCC come from India, Egypt, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Yemen. “These countries have a large diaspora population living and earning income offshore, most often in low-paid jobs that require them to leave their families behind in order to save money and support them,” the report said.
