International Day of Family Remittances

Remittances sent by migrants help families cover essential needs like food, education, and healthcare.  Geneva, 16 June 2025 – Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, conflict, and rising inequality, one financial flow has remained remarkably steady: the money migrants send home. On the International Day of Family Remittances, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) celebrates the powerful role of migrants and diaspora communities in supporting families and driving development worldwide through remittance flows. “When migrants send money home, they are doing far more than providing for their families,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “ They are building stronger communities, boosting local economies, and helping entire regions recover and grow. Remittances support children’s education, allow women to start businesses, and provide a vital cushion in times of crisis. When invested wisely, they are a powerful tool for development that benefits both countries of orig...

Current estimates are that 75% of remittance flows go to meet immediate needs, but the other 25% – over US$100 billion a year – is available for other purposes. Given better opportunities to save and investment options, migrants’ families will be better able to channel remittances toward long-term needs and live better lives. And because many migrant workers will eventually return home, helping them build assets is a central development policy objective. The projected US$4.5 trillion in remittances to be received by families living in LMICs by 2030 represent a tremendous opportunity. Remittances count especially in the small rural towns and villages of developing countries. In 2021, almost one hundred low- and middle-income countries, the majority with large rural populations , each received at least US$100 million in remittances. It is here that remittances can help make migration more of a choice than a necessity for future generations.

Most migrants work at difficult and often dangerous jobs at the low end of the international economy, in order to support those who remain at home. They have their own specific goals: reduced poverty, better health and nutrition, education, improved housing and sanitation, and greater resilience in the face of uncertainty with the help of savings. They are working towards a more stable and sustainable future – a goal that the international community shares. The crucial contribution of migrant workers , through remittances and investments, has also been recognized in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration , adopted in December 2018. Its Objective 20 indeed calls for specific actions to maximize the impact of remittances and includes the International Day for the global community to get engaged. Implementation of Objective 20 has been assessed during the first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) , which took place in May 2022. Remittances were recognized to ...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , adopted in September 2015, is a global commitment to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030 , ensuring that no one is left behind. Its 17 specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the major challenges facing the world today. SDG 10.c commits, by 2030, to reduce to less than 3% the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5%. Migrant remittances, however, contribute directly and indirectly to several SDGs in addition to 10.c, as outlined in IFAD’s Remittances, investments and the Sustainable Development Goals report.

  Remittances are private funds, transferred through private channels. It is obvious but also important to acknowledge the growing levels of support and endorsements from the private sector, which has increased its support for the remittances agenda . There are regulatory and policy aspects to leveraging the power of remittances , and hence governments can substantially increase their positive impact, particularly in the poorest and most remote rural areas. And through further coordinated initiatives, international financial institutions can better support the primary goal of enhancing well-being of migrant workers and their families .

  Over the past decade, migrants have sent US$5 trillion in remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) , exceeding official development assistance and equalling foreign direct investment. More than one-third of these funds have reached rural areas , where they count the most. By 2030, an estimated US$4.4 trillion in additional remittances will flow to LMICs; But behind the global numbers are individual remittances of US$200 or $300 that migrants send home regularly, so that their families can buy food, pay for housing, and meet necessary expenses. Remittance services are now much quicker and less expensive thanks to digital technologies. However, the cost of transferring US$200 across international boundaries is still high. Less than 20 years ago, remittances were literally unaccounted for, and the contributions of migrant workers remained unrecognized – though not to their families. But for the development community, it has been a gradual realization that remitt...