RemittancesGateway.org

Remittances to Jamaica grow for first time in Nov.

Thursday, 14 January 2010 11:37

Source: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
By: Robert W. Meins

The Bank of Jamaica released new figures this week, showing that remittances to Jamaica grew for this first time in 2009 during the month of November. Over the course of the year remittance flows have been recovering from the February low of $132 million (the lowest level since January of 2006).

IFAD now estimates that remittances will have contributed $1.780 billion to the Jamaican economy last year, a decline of just under 12% from 2008. Despite the negative impact of the financial crisis, Jamaicans living abroad sent home almost $660 per person living in Jamaica, more than in any other country for which IFAD has data. Remittance flows were clearly resilient relative to other flows, and to the economy as a whole, contributing almost 15% of GDP in 2009, up from 14.4% in the previous year.¹

With (albeit muted) economic growth prospects for the economies of the United States and the United Kingdom, the outlook for a resumption of remittance growth in the year ahead looks positive

¹ Based on IMF GDP and poulation projections