Workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries sent $131.5 billion abroad in 2023, according to data from the GCC Statistical Centre. This positions the GCC as the world’s largest source of worker remittances, followed by the US.
The 2023 remittance total reflects a decrease of approximately $500 million, or 0.4%, compared to 2022. This decline follows significant increases in previous years, with growth rates of 9.2% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022.
As a percentage of the GCC’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices, remittances declined from 8.1% in 2020 to 6% in 2022, before experiencing a slight increase in 2023, settling at 6.2%.
The GCC Statistical Centre, established in 2011 and headquartered in Oman, serves as a unified source of official data and statistics for member states.
Globally, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries moderated in 2023, reaching an estimated $656 billion, according to the World Bank. This modest 0.7% growth rate reflects large variances across regions but underscores the importance of remittances as a source of external finance for developing countries.
In the Middle East and North Africa region, remittances fell by 15% to $55 billion in 2023, primarily due to a sharp decrease in flows to Egypt. This decline contrasts with the GCC’s position as the leading source of remittances globally.
The slight decrease in GCC remittances in 2023 may be attributed to various factors, including host country economic conditions and oil price fluctuations. Despite the decline, the GCC continues to play a pivotal role in global remittance flows, reflecting the region’s significant expatriate workforce and its impact on the economies of recipient countries.
