Migrant workers living in Europe transferred 109.4 billion dollars to their countries of origin in 2014, revealed a report by Fida (International fund for agricultural development) on Monday. These transfers bring “precious help to over 150 million people around the world,” highlights the Rome-based UN agency, but “the recipient families could benefit much more through access to more competitive money transfer markets and to financial services better targeted to help them save and/or invest these funds.”
“We must ensure that this hard-earned money can be transferred more cheaply, and more importantly, that it can help families build a better future,” stated Kanayo Nwanze, Fida president, in the report. The money transferred came mostly from Western Europe and the Russian Federation in 2014. The top 6 countries are the Russian Federation (20.6 billion dollars), the United Kingdom (17.1 billion), Germany (14 billion), France (10.5 billion), Italy (10.4 billion) and Spain (9.6 billion). These 6 represent 75% of all transfers from Europe, added Fida.
As for destination countries, approximately one third of all transfers from Europe in 2014, 36.5 billion USD went to 19 countries in the Balkans, the Baltic Sea region, and Eastern Europe, including 10 EU-members states. remaining two thirds, 72.9 billion dollars, were sent to over 50 non-European developing countries.
(Source: Belga)
