In 2006, 159 million migrants from developed countries transferred over $300 billion to the countries with emerging economies, signaled the survey of International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD.
Photo: Lyudmila Zinchenko
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Money Transfer Outpaces Direct Investments
In 2006, 159 million migrants from developed countries transferred over $300 billion to the countries with emerging economies, signaled the survey of International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD. The amount transferred by the migrants exceeds by $167 billion the investments directly funneled by foreigners to developing nations.
The global growth in migration drives up the significance of money transfer systems, directly affecting living standards of 10 percent of the world population. The vitality of money transfer for the battle against poverty is evident. Moreover, it is of greatest importance for boosting economies and investments.
In terms of amount transferred by migrants in 2006, the biggest recipients were the states of Asia ($114 billion), Latin America and the states of the Caribbean Sea ($68 billion), Africa ($39 billion) and Middle East ($29 billion). The dependence of some CIS economies on money of gastarbeiters is particularly strong. The money transfer accounts for 36.7 percent of Tadjikistan’s GDP, while Kyrgyzstan and Moldova have 31 percent. The share is almost negligible for Russia (1.4 percent of GDP), despite that the country is the biggest recipient of money in terms of the absolute value ($13.7 billion).
Russia is the key destination for CIS migrants, IFAD pointed out. According to Central Bank of Russia (CIS), the individuals transferred $18.8 billion from Russia in 2006 and no more than $7.5 billion to it. Though significant, the difference in estimates will hardly change anything. For Russia, this money flow isn’t material, but it is one of the sources of welfare and economy’s advance for its neighbors.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 19, 2007
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