Mapped: Economies Most Dependent on Remittances

Mapped: Economies Most Dependent on Remittances

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In some economies, money sent home by workers abroad is not just helpful—it is a major pillar of national income. In Tajikistan, remittances were equal to 47.9% of GDP in 2024, the highest share in the world.

The visualization, created by Iswardi Ishak using World Bank data, maps personal remittances received as a share of GDP across 194 economies in 2024. It shows how migration-linked income plays an outsized role in a small group of countries, compared with a global average of just 0.82%.

Ranked: Where Remittances Make Up the Biggest Share

Tajikistan ranks far above every other economy, with remittances equal to 47.9% in 2024.

Nicaragua, Nepal, Honduras, and Samoa also stand out, each relying on these inflows for roughly a quarter of national output. Globally, the average is just 0.82%.

Rank	Country	Remittances as a % of GDP (2024)
1	Tajikistan	47.89
2	Lebanon	33.35
3	Nicaragua	26.64
4	Nepal	26.23
5	Honduras	25.70
6	Bermuda	25.41
7	Samoa	24.01
8	El Salvador	24.00
9	Gambia, The	22.00
10	Liberia	21.28
11	Lesotho	20.94
12	Comoros	19.60
13	Guatemala	19.12
14	Kyrgyz Republic	17.74
15	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	17.70
16	Kosovo	17.30
17	Haiti	16.30
18	Jamaica	16.19
19	Uzbekistan	14.42
20	Cabo Verde	12.25
21	Georgia	11.87
22	Marshall Islands	11.87
23	Timor-Leste	11.77
24	Senegal	11.43
25	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10.55
26	Moldova	10.54
27	Montenegro	10.34
28	Guinea-Bissau	9.79
29	Sao Tome and Principe	9.75
30	Pakistan	9.40
31	French Polynesia	9.20
32	Dominican Republic	9.05
33	Philippines	8.73
34	Zimbabwe	8.45
35	Nigeria	8.44
36	Albania	8.41
37	Jordan	8.31
38	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	7.94
39	Morocco	7.79
40	Burundi	7.69
41	Egypt, Arab Rep.	7.60
42	New Caledonia	7.26
43	Croatia	7.21
44	Fiji	7.11
45	Sri Lanka	6.79
46	Serbia	6.40
47	Tunisia	6.34
48	Ukraine	6.29
49	Bangladesh	6.11
50	Cambodia	6.10
51	Solomon Islands	6.01
52	Dominica	5.67
53	West Bank and Gaza	5.37
54	Ecuador	5.25
55	Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	4.95
56	Armenia	4.92
57	Belize	4.81
58	Ethiopia	4.77
59	Kiribati	4.76
60	Sierra Leone	4.60
61	Kenya	4.15
62	Mali	3.99
63	Ghana	3.68
64	Mexico	3.64
65	Rwanda	3.63
66	Suriname	3.63
67	India	3.52
68	Grenada	3.50
69	St. Kitts and Nevis	3.45
70	Vietnam	3.36
71	Niger	3.27
72	Curacao	3.26
73	Latvia	3.06
74	Colombia	2.83
75	Congo, Dem. Rep.	2.82
76	North Macedonia	2.70
77	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	2.69
78	Luxembourg	2.68
79	Uganda	2.65
80	Paraguay	2.56
81	Burkina Faso	2.55
82	Romania	2.49
83	Guinea	2.46
84	Hungary	2.46
85	Guyana	2.43
86	St. Lucia	2.38
87	Bolivia	2.34
88	Bulgaria	2.33
89	Madagascar	2.33
90	Belgium	2.31
91	Mongolia	2.22
92	Slovakia	2.10
93	Cote d’Ivoire	2.03
94	Mauritius	1.92
95	Azerbaijan	1.82
96	Belarus	1.81
97	Sudan	1.81
98	Cyprus	1.80
99	Thailand	1.80
100	Peru	1.71
101	Malawi	1.65
102	Myanmar	1.55
103	Lao PDR	1.49
104	Tanzania	1.42
105	Nauru	1.37
106	Djibouti	1.35
107	Zambia	1.32
108	Andorra	1.30
109	Cameroon	1.29
110	Lithuania	1.24
111	Slovenia	1.24
112	France	1.23
113	Czechia	1.22
114	Antigua and Barbuda	1.19
115	Mozambique	1.17
116	Estonia	1.15
117	Indonesia	1.15
118	Barbados	1.14
119	Benin	1.10
120	Poland	0.95
121	Aruba	0.89
122	Mauritania	0.87
123	European Union	0.81
124	Trinidad and Tobago	0.78
125	Costa Rica	0.76
126	Iceland	0.74
127	Sweden	0.73
128	Namibia	0.72
129	Eswatini	0.69
130	Algeria	0.67
131	Botswana	0.66
132	Qatar	0.66
133	Austria	0.65
134	Panama	0.61
135	Portugal	0.59
136	Seychelles	0.55
137	Italy	0.47
138	Germany	0.45
139	Bahamas, The	0.42
140	Korea, Rep.	0.40
141	Switzerland	0.39
142	Netherlands	0.39
143	Malaysia	0.38
144	Spain	0.37
145	Denmark	0.36
146	United Arab Emirates	0.33
147	Congo, Rep.	0.28
148	Macao SAR	0.27
149	Finland	0.25
150	Iraq	0.25
151	New Zealand	0.23
152	Brazil	0.22
153	Greece	0.22
154	South Africa	0.21
155	Norway	0.20
156	Israel	0.18
157	China	0.17
158	Uruguay	0.17
159	Argentina	0.16
160	United Kingdom	0.13
161	Japan	0.12
162	Hong Kong SAR	0.11
163	Ireland	0.11
164	Australia	0.10
165	Russian Federation	0.09
166	Kazakhstan	0.08
167	Maldives	0.08
168	Turkiye	0.07
169	Malta	0.06
170	Angola	0.05
171	Canada	0.04
172	Oman	0.04
173	Chile	0.03
174	Saudi Arabia	0.03
175	United States	0.03
176	Kuwait	0.01
177	Papua New Guinea	0.01
—	Togo	8.69 (2020)
—	Tonga	42.61 (2023)
—	Tuvalu	4.16 (2023)
—	Bhutan	3.58 (2023)
—	Syrian Arab Republic	2.64 (2010)
—	Vanuatu	18.75 (2022)
—	Yemen, Rep.	15.89 (2018)
—	Afghanistan	1.87 (2023)
—	San Marino	1.10 (2023)
—	Palau	0.80 (2023)
—	Turks and Caicos Islands	0.57 (2018)
—	Iran, Islamic Rep.	0.55 (2004)
—	Venezuela, RB	0.25 (2016)
—	Cayman Islands	0.15 (2023)
—	Gabon	0.13 (2015)
—	Libya	0.03 (2006)
—	Iran, Islamic Rep.	No Data
—	World	0.82

Why Some Economies Depend More on Remittances

Remittance dependence is highest in smaller or lower-income economies where a significant share of the workforce migrates abroad. The money sent home supports household spending, education, housing, and basic consumption, giving remittances an outsized role in the domestic economy.

This reliance can be a double-edged sword. While remittances are often more stable than foreign investment during downturns, countries that depend on them are more exposed to changes in host-country labor markets, migration policy, and transfer costs.

Big Economies, Smaller Shares

Interestingly, some of the world’s largest recipients of remittances, like India, Mexico, and the Philippines, do not rank as highly when measured as a share of GDP. For example:

• India receives massive inflows in absolute terms but remittances account for just 3.5% of GDP.
• Mexico sees a similar pattern, with 3.6% of GDP tied to remittances.
• The Philippines stands higher at 8.7%, reflecting a more migration-driven economy.

Simply put: large economies have more diversified sources of income, diluting the relative impact of remittances.

The Cost of Sending Money Home

Despite their importance, remittances can come with high transaction costs. In fact, some countries face the highest remittance fees globally, reducing the amount families ultimately receive.

Lowering these costs remains a key goal for policymakers and international organizations, as even small reductions can significantly boost household income in remittance-dependent nations.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To explore how money moves across borders, check out Global Remittance Flows on the Voronoi app.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/which-countries-depend-on-remittances-the-most/