Money sent home by migrants to low- and middle-income countries nearly doubled in dollar terms between 2016 and 2025, according to a new United Nations report, though the increase is smaller after accounting for inflation.
The report, which was released on September 14 by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, found that the transfers, known as remittances, reached a value of $728.6 billion in 2025, an increase of about 94% from $375.6 billion in 2016. An inflation adjustment using the U.S. Consumer Price Index puts the increase at about 45%.
“This is a huge number, but it isn’t surprising,” wrote Samuel Huckstep, a research analyst at the Center for Global Development, in response to a request for comment. “The numbers have been gradually growing year on year: even during Covid-19 remittance flows were quite robust to the shock.”
Families receiving remittances spend that money on a variety of critical needs, from consumer goods to long-term investments, noted Gaurav Khanna, an economist at the University of California San Diego. The benefits can even spill over: A study he co-authored, published in April, found that increased earning power for migrant workers from the Philippines resulted in long-term gains in income and education for entire communities.
“What we’re trying to argue is that if the migrants are sending the money back home, then the gains can actually be spread much more widely than just their families,” said Khanna.
These latest findings also come at a time when some leading destination countries for international migrants are tightening immigration rules and enforcement. Immigration judges in the United States, for instance, have ordered the removal of more than 440,000 people seeking asylum in President Donald Trump’s first 19 months back in office, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Germany, another popular destination for migrants, recently extended immigration controls at its land borders until March 2027.
“In response, we have not seen a major reduction in remittance flows,” said the report’s lead author, Pedro de Vasconcelos, at a press conference, referring to restrictive migration policies. “There’s always a delay, also, that you need to take into account.” The report does not include data from 2026.
Despite these headwinds against immigration, remittances are likely here to stay, said Patricia Fernández-Kelly, a sociologist at Princeton who studies global migration.
“I’m pretty sure that remittances will continue to be a very important source of revenue in some of these countries,” she said.
Some researchers also say that governments can improve the economic impact of remittances through better migration policies.
“I would emphasise that countries of destination have the opportunity to foster huge positive externalities via their migration policy, and that they should proactively try to maximise those externalities,” wrote Huckstep. “Currently this isn’t even a factor, but the potential is massive.”
