GFMD Expert Meeting on International Day of Family Remittances 2019 | Global Forum on Migration & Development | 14 June 2019 | United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY 10017, USA

Over the past two decades, remittances have emerged as an important contribution to the well-being of migrant families and the development of communities of origin.

In 2018, migrant workers transferred US$529 billion in remittances to their families in developing countries1, representing more than three times the annual flow of official development assistance (ODA) and exceeding foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first time. In 2017, the global number of international migrants was estimated to have reached 258 million. 2 Remittances are a private source of capital which should not to be equated with other international financial flows. Remittances help to lift millions of migrant families out of poverty, touching the lives of up to one billion people, either as senders or recipients. Remittances, the “human face of globalization”, allow migrants and their families to improve their access to health, education and housing, thereby helping to achieve their own Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).