Saudi Arabia once again topped the list of the remitters with the UAE next
Pakistan recorded its highest inflow of foreign remittances during July, amounting up to $2.77 billion. The increase was more than 36% over the year and more than 12% over the month.
The inward remittances have been rising in recent months as people have been sending more funds to families due to the coronavirus pandemic. The spike was also typical of the Eid-ul-Azha season, as noticed in the last few years. Friendlier terms for inbound remittances also helped the numbers.
Prime Minister sees an improving economy
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his delight over the increased inward remittances. He tweeted that these were the highest cash inflows in the history of the country from overseas Pakistanis. He also mentioned figures from the previous month and July in the previous year.
“More good news for Pak economy. Remittances from overseas Pakistanis reached $2,768 mn in July 2020, highest ever amount in one month in the history of Pakistan. This is 12.2% increase over June 2020 and 36.5% increase over July 2019,” the tweet read.
Expats from Saudi Arabia still top the list
Like previous months, Pakistani community-based in Saudi Arabia topped the list of remitters back home. A total of $821.6 million were remitted from Saudi Arabia during July. Other major inflows were experienced from UAE ($538.2 million), UK ($393.9 million) and USA ($250.6 million). The typical remittance by country was higher on average from the GCC countries in comparison with European nations.
The total inflows from the former amounted to $296.95 million with Oman contributing the highest at $102 million. From Europe, a total of $227.57 million was received in remittances during the month with Spain’s $38.9 million being the highest.