India obtained over USD83 billion in remittance which is a drop of just 0.2 per cent from the preceding year even in case of devastating the world economy  due to the pandemic, as per the World Bank report.

China received USD 59.5 billion in remittances in 2020 against USD 68.3 billion the preceding year, stands second in terms of global settlements for the year gone by, as per the latest World Bank data. India had received USD83.3 billion in remittances in the year 2019, the report said India’s remittances dropped by just 0.2 per cent in 2020, with much of the deduction due to a 17 per cent drop in settlements from the United Arab Emirates, which finance buoyant flows from the United States and other host countries.

India and China are followed by Mexico (USD42.8 billion), the Philippines (USD34.9 billion), Egypt (USD29.6 billion), Pakistan (USD26 billion), France (USD24.4 billion) and Bangladesh (USD21 billion).

The relatively strong performance of remittance flows during the COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted the significance of felicitous convenience of data. Given its rising significance as a source of external financing for low- and middle-income countries, there is a requirement for greater collection of data on remittances, in terms of frequency, timely reporting, and granularity by corridor and channel.

In the latest Migration and Development brief of the World Bank stated in spite of COVID-19, remittance flows remained irrepressible in 2020, recording a lesser downfall than the previously projected. 

Officially recorded settlements send  to low-income and middle-income countries reached about USD540 billion in 2020, just 1.6 per cent below the 2019 total of USD548 billion. The relatively strong performance of remittance flows during the COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted the significance of felicitous convenience of data. Given its rising significance as a source of external financing for low- and middle-income countries, there is a requirement for greater collection of data on remittances, in terms of frequency, timely reporting, and granularity by corridor and channel. 

Remittance outflow was the maximum from the United States (USD68 billion), followed by UAE (USD43 billion), Saudi Arabia (USD34.5 billion), Switzerland (USD27.9 billion), Germany (USD22 billion), and China (USD18 billion).