Ammon News - *The World Bank expects Jordanian expatriates' remittances to decline in 2024

*9.9% contribution of Jordanian expatriate remittances to the GDP

Ammon news -Ahmad Alhyari- The value of financial flows from Jordanian expatriates from 2000 until the end of 2023 to Jordan reached $91.799 billion from all countries of the world, data collected and issued by the World Bank showed.

According to a World Bank report, a copy of which was received by Ammon News Agency, stated that the prospects for financial transfers in 2024 will be affected by the difficult conditions facing oil-importing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, such as Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.

The report expected a decline in Jordanian expatriates' remittances during 2024, within the list of economies in which foreign remittance revenues constitute a large percentage of the gross domestic product, which also includes Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, basing its expectations on the intensity of tensions in the Middle East, and a reflection of weak economic growth in the euro area, the main transfers are from the source.

The value of expatriate remittances to Jordan ranked 4th in the MENA region during the year 2023, after Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon, the World Bank tables showed, with a value of $4.7 billion, making their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Jordan about 9.9%.

The transfers between the countries of the MENA are the lowest compared to sending money from abroad, including transfers from Jordan to Egypt and also transfers from Oman to Jordan, while the highest cost in the region is cash transfers from Jordan to Syria, the report reveled.

Preliminary data issued by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) showed that remittances from workers abroad witnessed an increase of 2.1% during December 2023, compared to the same month in 2022, to reach $326.1 million (JD231.2 million).

The remittances increased by 1.4%, during 2023, reaching $3.501 billion, compared to $3.452 billion during 2022.

After expatriate remittances to the MENA region declined by 4.5% in 2022, these countries are expected to witness a further decline of 5.3% to about $61 billion in 2023, the World Bank report showed.

This is mainly due to the sharp decline in flows to Egypt, which is the biggest receiver in the area, This decline is mainly because remittances to Egypt tend to go through unofficial channels due to the substantial difference between official and unofficial exchange rates. Additionally, the current weakness is also somewhat connected to a reduction in foreign remittances from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.