2023-12-24 11:04:00
Moncef Ben Hayoun December 24, 2023 at 12:04
Shipments of migrant funds to the Morocco are expected to exceed $12 billion for the first time to reach $12.1 billion in 2023. An increase of 8.6% over one year, according to the latest Report on Migration and Development published by the world Bank. Morocco alone is expected to account for nearly 20% of remittances this year to the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). These should stand at $61 billion, down 5.3%.
>>Read also: Fund transfers from the diaspora: Morocco in the world’s top 13 beneficiary countries
The Kingdom thus remains the second main country to benefit from migration remittances in the MENA region, behind Egypt ($24.2 billion). It would notably precede the Lebanon ($6.4 billion), Jordan (4.7 billion) Palestine (3.8 billion), Tunisia (2.7 billion) and Algeria (1.8 billion).
Remittances from Moroccan diasporas contribute to the economy
According to the Bretton Woods Institution, inflows of transfer funds to Morocco have exceeded, in recent years, inflows of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), constituting a vital source of income for Moroccan families.
“The pace of fund transfers to Morocco has been sustained throughout this year, particularly following the September earthquake. Already, flows increased by 6.1% to reach 96.4 billion DH ($9.5 billion) during the first 10 months of 2023 compared to the previous year,” the report said.
“Alongside international aid, remittances from Moroccan diasporas will help to mitigate the harmful effects of natural disasters, by alleviating part of the reconstruction costs and supporting the financial stability of the country,” estimate World Bank economists. . The increase in flows to Morocco comes as remittances from migrants to the MENA region continue their downward trend. They are expected to fall this year by around 5.3%, a drop mainly attributable to a 15% drop in flows to Egypt, “where a large gap between the official exchange rate and the parallel market has probably resulted by the non-accounting of a large part of money transfers.
In Africa, Morocco occupies third place behind Nigeria (20.5 billion dollars: +2%) and Egypt. Money transfers to Nigeria represent 38% of all expected flows to sub-Saharan Africa, which would see an increase of 1.9% in 2023, to $54 billion.
The pace of growth of flows to Morocco also exceeds the average of that of migratory remittances to low- and middle-income countries. These would increase by 3.8% in 2023 to $669 billion in 2023, favored by the resilience of labor markets in advanced economies and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
In terms of other destination regions, we observe an increase in migratory remittances towards Latin America and the Caribbean (8%), South Asia (7.2%), East Asia and the Pacific (3%). Those to Europe and Central Asia are expected to decline by 1.4%, following experiencing a boom of more than 18% in 2022. The five main beneficiary countries this year are India ($125 billion), Mexico ($67 billion), China ($50 billion), the Philippines ($40 billion) and Egypt ($24 billion).
For 2024, given the downward trends in global economic activity, the growth of remittances to low- and middle-income countries is expected to slow further in 2024, to 3.1%. Remittances to Morocco are expected to increase by around 6%, compared to an average of 2.1% for the MENA region.
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