Countries Where Remittance Does Not Contribute to GDP

Personal remittances are made up of employee compensations and transfers. Employee compensation is the cash earned by short-term or seasonal employees working in a country where they are not residents plus the residents who are working for non-resident entities. Personal transfers are the cash transferred by a foreign employee to a family member or friend back at home. In many labor-exporting nations, remittances do not contribute to the country’s GDP.

8 Countries Where Remittances Do Not Factor in the GDP

Angola

In 2010 the total amount remitted was $17,972,040 which reduced to $204,751 in 2011. This is a 98.86% decrease and it dropped further to $45,380 in 2014. In 1996 the remittance received was 0.07% and it grew to 0.10% in 2018, but drastically reduced to 0.01% in 2015 and 0.00% in 2016 which means that it did not contribute to the GDP in 2016.

Mauritius

In Mauritius, the percentage of GDP from personal remittance was quite high from 1994 to 2004 with the top being 4.74% in 2001, but it dropped from 2005 to 2016 when it averaged at 0.01%. The amount remitted in 1994 was $1,336,276, and it grew to $8,096,483 in 2001 when the percentage of GDP from remittance was at its highest. The contributions were quite higher from 2002 to 2016 with 2008 topping at $12,740,010. From 2002 to 2016 the country’s GDP grew, and even though they remitted more cash its contribution to the overall GDP was quite low, and in 2016 it was 0.00%.

Turkmenistan

Although the Turkmenistan citizens working abroad have always sent money home, their remittances have never contributed much to the country’s GDP. In fact, for the last 20 years, it topped at 0.26% in 2008. From 2011 to 2016 the percentage contribution of remittance to the GDP has been decreasing, and it averaged at 0.08% with 2016 being the lowest at 0.02%.

The United States

Even though the United States is one of the biggest importers of labor in the world, they also export labor to other countries. The amount transferred to other countries is more than the amount received as remittance. The amount paid out in 2014 was $56,311,000,000 while the amount received was $6,908,000,000; therefore it has never contributed much to the overall countries GDP with the contribution being 0.00% in 2016.

Suriname

The total amount of personal remittance received by Suriname has been fluctuating for the last few years with 2003 being the year they topped at $23,500,000. The lowest amount the country has received in the previous 15 years was in 2016 when their citizens working abroad sent $1,493,543. Although the total cash received has always fluctuated the percentage contribution of the remittance to the GDP has been 0.00% for the last ten years.

Chile

The percentage contribution of remittance to the GDP of Chile has been below 0.07% for the last three decades with the highest ever received being in 2012 when it reached 0.06%. Although the amount received has been at its highest in the previous five years, the nation’s GDP also increased, and this resulted in the percentage contribution being below 0.06%. The highest remittance Chile has ever received was $308,020,900 in 2013.

The Democratic Republic of Congo

With the number of Congolese working abroad ever fluctuating the amount of cash remitted back to the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) has been changing with the highest amount being sent in 2011 when they received $114,600,000. The amount decreased from $33,111,317 in 2013 to $4,717,384 in 2015, but in 2016 the country experienced a 1.18% increase in personal remittance. From 2011 to 2015 the average remittance to GDP was 0.048% and in 2016 it was 0.01%.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest labor importing nations which paid out over $36.92 billion in 2014. Although they import labor, Saudi Arabia also exports employment, and in 2014 the country received $269.36 million in personal remittance and this amount has been increasing for the last ten years, but this has had no effect on the country’s GDP. In 2016 the percentage contribution of personal remittance to the GDP was 0.00%.

Why Has the Personal Remittance Not Contributed to the GDP?

Even though the percentage contribution to the GDP has been zero in these countries, they have been receiving personal remittance. In countries like DRC, Mauritius, and Angola, the GDP has increased immensely for the payments to have any effect on the total GDP. Saudi Arabia and the United States are the major importers of labor; therefore, the amounts paid out to other nations are always more than the amount received.