Overseas Pakistanis sent remittances amounting to $11.7 billion in the first eight months of 2014-15, which translates into a year-on-year increase of 14.6%, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan yesterday.
Remittances amounted to $10.2 billion over the same eight-month period of the preceding fiscal year.
Pakistanis based in foreign countries sent home $1.4 billion last month, which is 1% higher than the remittances received in the preceding month of January. Even though the month of Februrary with 28 days, is the smallest month of the year.
Inflows from Saudi Arabia were the largest source of remittances in the first eight months of 2014-15. They amounted to $3.5 billion in July-February, up 19.9% from the same eight months of 2013-14.
Remittances received in July-February from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) increased 25.2% to $2.5 billion on a year-on-year basis. Inflows from the UAE registered the largest increase from any major remittance-sending country during the last eight months.
Remittances from the United States and the United Kingdom remained $1.6 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, in July-February. The year-on-year increase in remittances from the US and the UK has been 2.7% each.
Remittances from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, excluding Saudi Arabia and the UAE, clocked up at $1.3 billion in July-February, which is 14.3% higher than the remittances received from these countries in the same period of the preceding fiscal year.
Remittances from Kuwait, in the first eight months of 2014-15, equalled to $491.4 million while those from Oman, Bahrain and Qatar amounted to $423 million, $235.7 million and $214.3 million, respectively.
Remittances received from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and ‘other countries’ during February amounted to $85 million as opposed to remittances of $82 million received in the same month of the preceding fiscal year.
In the last fiscal year, overseas Pakistanis sent home $15.8 billion, which was 13.7% higher than the remittances of $13.9 billion received in 2012-13.
The monthly average of remittances during the July-February of 2014-15 remained $1.46 billion, which was up 14.6% from the monthly average of remittances received during the same months of 2013-14.
