KSA, UAE remain Pakistan’s top remittance destinations

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remain top remittance destinations for Pakistan’s workers in the month of September.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data, Saudi Arabia was the leading country for Pakistani workers, who remitted $665.82 million in September 2020 as compared to $515.75mn remitted in the same period last year showing an increase of over 29 percent.

UAE was second on the list, as Pakistani workers remitted $473.01mn in September as compared to $422.44mn remitted in the same month last year, witnessing an increase of almost 12pc.

The United Kingdom emerged as the third biggest source of remittance as Pakistani workers remitted $289.29mn in the month of September rising by over 63pc as compared to $176.90mn remitted in the same month last year.

Furthermore, remittances from other GCC countries stood at $261.40mn in the month of September as compared to $228.51mn remitted in the same period last year. Whereas, remittance from EU countries witnessed YoY growth of over 44pc from $143.72mn recorded in September 2019 to $207.33mn remitted in September this year.

Pakistan’s remittances increased to $2.3 billion in September 2020, 31.2 percent higher than the same month last year, and 9 percent higher than in August.

On a cumulative basis, remittances rose to a record $ 7.1 billion in Q1-FY21, 31.1 higher than the same period last year. The level of remittances in September was slightly higher than SBP’s projections of $ 2 billion.