Remittances Decrease by 10% YoY to $2.1 Billion in May

Remittances in May 2023 registered a decrease of 10 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis and dropped to the $2.1 billion mark compared to $2.34 billion in May 2022, according to data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Remittances received by the country from overseas Pakistanis are down 4 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis from $2.2 billion in April 2023. Remittance inflows during May 2023 were primarily sourced from Saudi Arabia ($524 million), the United Arab Emirates ($336 million), the United Kingdom ($307 million), and the United States ($257 million). Proceeds from expats residing in the European Union countries decreased by 3 percent on a MoM basis in May 2023, coming in at $249 million. Similarly, remittances from other GCC Countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman) stood at $250 million. Cumulative remittances during July-May (11 months) were down by 13 percent to $24.8 billion against $28.4 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year.