Bulgarians Abroad have Sent Home More than BGN 4 Billion in 2018

Last year, Bulgarians, working and living abroad, sent back almost 2.4 billion dollars (2.13 billion euros) back to the country. This is equal to 3.8% of Bulgaria's GDP, and the amount is forecast and calculated on the basis of IMF data, official national statistics and the national bank. Outside of these money transfers there is a cash transfer, but their amount is not part of statistics.

At the same time, the funds that are exported from Bulgaria from those working here are also growing. They have reached $ 221 million, not just passing the psychological threshold of $ 200 million, but also growing by more than 11 percent from $ 199 million in 2017. However, they are only 0.3 percent of Bulgaria's GDP .

The news is reported by the World Bank in its latest report on emigrant funds entering or leaving national economies. The report, released Monday, says that for low and middle income countries by 2018, they have reached a record $ 529 billion, an increase of 9.6% compared to $ 483 billion in 2017. Together with translations to countries with low and middle income, high incomes the total volume of funds that have moved in the world economy last year is $ 689 billion.

In 2019, those funds returned home in low- and middle-income countries will probably reach $ 550 billion and become the largest external source of funding for these economies.

The main reason for the sensitive change is the improvement in the employment situation in the US and the growth of the Gulf economies, where millions of people, mainly from Asia, work.

India remains the leading recipient of such funds ($ 79 billion), followed by China ($ 67 billion), Mexico ($ 36 billion), the Philippines ($ 34 billion), and Egypt ($ 29 billion)

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