Pakistan Receives Highest Ever Remittances of $2.8 Billion in A Single Month

Pakistan has received the highest ever monthly remittances of $2.8 billion in a single month from overseas Pakistanis in March 2022. The increasing inflows of remittances have been attributed to the seasonal impact as traditionally, remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis are higher ahead of Eid or Ramadan due to religious obligations such as Zakat, Sadqat, Fitra, and expenditures on account of Eid festivities. The growth in remittance inflows could also be attributed to the increasing utility of Roshan Digital Accounts by overseas Pakistanis. Further, remittances growth also reflected the contribution of thousands of Pakistanis who moved to various countries for employment since the beginning of the calendar year. A partial impact of the seasonal high remittances can likely be seen in the inflows of April as well. In terms of growth, during March 2022, remittances increased by 28.3 percent on a month-on-month basis and 3.2 percent on a YoY basis, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. The workers’ remittances continued their unprecedented run of remaining above $2 billion since June 2020. This is the highest ever monthly level for workers’ remittances. Cumulatively at $ 23.0 billion, remittances grew by 7.1 percent during the first 9 months of FY22 compared with last year. With three months of the financial year left, remittances values may likely touch a mark of $30 billion for the first time in history. Remittance inflows during March 2022 from Saudi Arabia stood at $678 million, United Arab Emirates stood at $515 million, the United Kingdom stood at $401 million, and the United States of America stood at $300 million.