Remittances set to grow even faster than expected, despite high costs | beyondbrics

Migrant workers are doing overtime to keep the world economy going. One of the few pleasant surprises of the post-2008 global economic turmoil has been the strength of remittance flows to the developing world.

In a report this week the World Bank says remittances are expected to exceed earlier estimates and reach $406bn this year, an increase of 6.5 per cent over 2o11, with further gains in the next three years. The main impediment is the high cost of the transfers – a full 12.4 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa.

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