Remittances from expatriate Egyptians rose 2.1% in 11 months

Remittances from expatriate Egyptians rose 2.1 percent year-on-year during the period between July 2021 and May 2022, the central bank said on Sunday.

Remittances recorded $29.1 billion in the July 2021 and May 2022 period from $28.5 billion in the July 2020 and May 2021.

In May, remittances registered $2.4 billion from $2.6 billion in May 2021.

Remittances are one of Egypt’s key sources of foreign currency in addition to exports, tourism, and the Suez Canal.

In its report titled “A War in a Pandemic… Implications of the Ukraine Crisis and COVID-19 on Global Governance of Migration and Remittance flows,” the World Bank said Egypt ranked among the top five countries receiving remittances in 2021, with a total value of $32 billion, following India, Mexico, China, and the Philippines.

The World Bank attributed this to the higher oil prices that fuel remittances from Gulf countries to Egypt as well as the economic downturns in Europe and the U.S.