Mapped: Economies Most Dependent on Remittances
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Key Takeaways
- Tajikistan is the world’s most remittance-dependent economy, with inflows equal to 47.9% of GDP in 2024.
- Several smaller economies rely on remittances for a quarter or more of GDP, including Nicaragua, Nepal, Honduras, and Samoa.
- By comparison, the global average is just 0.82%, showing how concentrated remittance dependence is.
In some economies, money sent home by workers abroad is not just helpful—it is a major pillar of national income. In Tajikistan, remittances were equal to 47.9% of GDP in 2024, the highest share in the world.
The visualization, created by Iswardi Ishak using World Bank data, maps personal remittances received as a share of GDP across 194 economies in 2024. It shows how migration-linked income plays an outsized role in a small group of countries, compared with a global average of just 0.82%.
Ranked: Where Remittances Make Up the Biggest Share
Tajikistan ranks far above every other economy, with remittances equal to 47.9% in 2024.
Nicaragua, Nepal, Honduras, and Samoa also stand out, each relying on these inflows for roughly a quarter of national output. Globally, the average is just 0.82%.
| Rank | Country | Remittances as a % of GDP (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajikistan | 47.89 |
| 2 | Lebanon | 33.35 |
| 3 | Nicaragua | 26.64 |
| 4 | Nepal | 26.23 |
| 5 | Honduras | 25.70 |
| 6 | Bermuda | 25.41 |
| 7 | Samoa | 24.01 |
| 8 | El Salvador | 24.00 |
| 9 | Gambia, The | 22.00 |
| 10 | Liberia | 21.28 |
| 11 | Lesotho | 20.94 |
| 12 | Comoros | 19.60 |
| 13 | Guatemala | 19.12 |
| 14 | Kyrgyz Republic | 17.74 |
| 15 | Somalia, Fed. Rep. | 17.70 |
| 16 | Kosovo | 17.30 |
| 17 | Haiti | 16.30 |
| 18 | Jamaica | 16.19 |
| 19 | Uzbekistan | 14.42 |
| 20 | Cabo Verde | 12.25 |
| 21 | Georgia | 11.87 |
| 22 | Marshall Islands | 11.87 |
| 23 | Timor-Leste | 11.77 |
| 24 | Senegal | 11.43 |
| 25 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10.55 |
| 26 | Moldova | 10.54 |
| 27 | Montenegro | 10.34 |
| 28 | Guinea-Bissau | 9.79 |
| 29 | Sao Tome and Principe | 9.75 |
| 30 | Pakistan | 9.40 |
| 31 | French Polynesia | 9.20 |
| 32 | Dominican Republic | 9.05 |
| 33 | Philippines | 8.73 |
| 34 | Zimbabwe | 8.45 |
| 35 | Nigeria | 8.44 |
| 36 | Albania | 8.41 |
| 37 | Jordan | 8.31 |
| 38 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 7.94 |
| 39 | Morocco | 7.79 |
| 40 | Burundi | 7.69 |
| 41 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 7.60 |
| 42 | New Caledonia | 7.26 |
| 43 | Croatia | 7.21 |
| 44 | Fiji | 7.11 |
| 45 | Sri Lanka | 6.79 |
| 46 | Serbia | 6.40 |
| 47 | Tunisia | 6.34 |
| 48 | Ukraine | 6.29 |
| 49 | Bangladesh | 6.11 |
| 50 | Cambodia | 6.10 |
| 51 | Solomon Islands | 6.01 |
| 52 | Dominica | 5.67 |
| 53 | West Bank and Gaza | 5.37 |
| 54 | Ecuador | 5.25 |
| 55 | Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | 4.95 |
| 56 | Armenia | 4.92 |
| 57 | Belize | 4.81 |
| 58 | Ethiopia | 4.77 |
| 59 | Kiribati | 4.76 |
| 60 | Sierra Leone | 4.60 |
| 61 | Kenya | 4.15 |
| 62 | Mali | 3.99 |
| 63 | Ghana | 3.68 |
| 64 | Mexico | 3.64 |
| 65 | Rwanda | 3.63 |
| 66 | Suriname | 3.63 |
| 67 | India | 3.52 |
| 68 | Grenada | 3.50 |
| 69 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 3.45 |
| 70 | Vietnam | 3.36 |
| 71 | Niger | 3.27 |
| 72 | Curacao | 3.26 |
| 73 | Latvia | 3.06 |
| 74 | Colombia | 2.83 |
| 75 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 2.82 |
| 76 | North Macedonia | 2.70 |
| 77 | Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | 2.69 |
| 78 | Luxembourg | 2.68 |
| 79 | Uganda | 2.65 |
| 80 | Paraguay | 2.56 |
| 81 | Burkina Faso | 2.55 |
| 82 | Romania | 2.49 |
| 83 | Guinea | 2.46 |
| 84 | Hungary | 2.46 |
| 85 | Guyana | 2.43 |
| 86 | St. Lucia | 2.38 |
| 87 | Bolivia | 2.34 |
| 88 | Bulgaria | 2.33 |
| 89 | Madagascar | 2.33 |
| 90 | Belgium | 2.31 |
| 91 | Mongolia | 2.22 |
| 92 | Slovakia | 2.10 |
| 93 | Cote d'Ivoire | 2.03 |
| 94 | Mauritius | 1.92 |
| 95 | Azerbaijan | 1.82 |
| 96 | Belarus | 1.81 |
| 97 | Sudan | 1.81 |
| 98 | Cyprus | 1.80 |
| 99 | Thailand | 1.80 |
| 100 | Peru | 1.71 |
| 101 | Malawi | 1.65 |
| 102 | Myanmar | 1.55 |
| 103 | Lao PDR | 1.49 |
| 104 | Tanzania | 1.42 |
| 105 | Nauru | 1.37 |
| 106 | Djibouti | 1.35 |
| 107 | Zambia | 1.32 |
| 108 | Andorra | 1.30 |
| 109 | Cameroon | 1.29 |
| 110 | Lithuania | 1.24 |
| 111 | Slovenia | 1.24 |
| 112 | France | 1.23 |
| 113 | Czechia | 1.22 |
| 114 | Antigua and Barbuda | 1.19 |
| 115 | Mozambique | 1.17 |
| 116 | Estonia | 1.15 |
| 117 | Indonesia | 1.15 |
| 118 | Barbados | 1.14 |
| 119 | Benin | 1.10 |
| 120 | Poland | 0.95 |
| 121 | Aruba | 0.89 |
| 122 | Mauritania | 0.87 |
| 123 | European Union | 0.81 |
| 124 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.78 |
| 125 | Costa Rica | 0.76 |
| 126 | Iceland | 0.74 |
| 127 | Sweden | 0.73 |
| 128 | Namibia | 0.72 |
| 129 | Eswatini | 0.69 |
| 130 | Algeria | 0.67 |
| 131 | Botswana | 0.66 |
| 132 | Qatar | 0.66 |
| 133 | Austria | 0.65 |
| 134 | Panama | 0.61 |
| 135 | Portugal | 0.59 |
| 136 | Seychelles | 0.55 |
| 137 | Italy | 0.47 |
| 138 | Germany | 0.45 |
| 139 | Bahamas, The | 0.42 |
| 140 | Korea, Rep. | 0.40 |
| 141 | Switzerland | 0.39 |
| 142 | Netherlands | 0.39 |
| 143 | Malaysia | 0.38 |
| 144 | Spain | 0.37 |
| 145 | Denmark | 0.36 |
| 146 | United Arab Emirates | 0.33 |
| 147 | Congo, Rep. | 0.28 |
| 148 | Macao SAR | 0.27 |
| 149 | Finland | 0.25 |
| 150 | Iraq | 0.25 |
| 151 | New Zealand | 0.23 |
| 152 | Brazil | 0.22 |
| 153 | Greece | 0.22 |
| 154 | South Africa | 0.21 |
| 155 | Norway | 0.20 |
| 156 | Israel | 0.18 |
| 157 | China | 0.17 |
| 158 | Uruguay | 0.17 |
| 159 | Argentina | 0.16 |
| 160 | United Kingdom | 0.13 |
| 161 | Japan | 0.12 |
| 162 | Hong Kong SAR | 0.11 |
| 163 | Ireland | 0.11 |
| 164 | Australia | 0.10 |
| 165 | Russian Federation | 0.09 |
| 166 | Kazakhstan | 0.08 |
| 167 | Maldives | 0.08 |
| 168 | Turkiye | 0.07 |
| 169 | Malta | 0.06 |
| 170 | Angola | 0.05 |
| 171 | Canada | 0.04 |
| 172 | Oman | 0.04 |
| 173 | Chile | 0.03 |
| 174 | Saudi Arabia | 0.03 |
| 175 | United States | 0.03 |
| 176 | Kuwait | 0.01 |
| 177 | Papua New Guinea | 0.01 |
| -- | Togo | 8.69 (2020) |
| -- | Tonga | 42.61 (2023) |
| -- | Tuvalu | 4.16 (2023) |
| -- | Bhutan | 3.58 (2023) |
| -- | Syrian Arab Republic | 2.64 (2010) |
| -- | Vanuatu | 18.75 (2022) |
| -- | Yemen, Rep. | 15.89 (2018) |
| -- | Afghanistan | 1.87 (2023) |
| -- | San Marino | 1.10 (2023) |
| -- | Palau | 0.80 (2023) |
| -- | Turks and Caicos Islands | 0.57 (2018) |
| -- | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 0.55 (2004) |
| -- | Venezuela, RB | 0.25 (2016) |
| -- | Cayman Islands | 0.15 (2023) |
| -- | Gabon | 0.13 (2015) |
| -- | Libya | 0.03 (2006) |
| -- | Iran, Islamic Rep. | No Data |
| -- | World | 0.82 |
Why Some Economies Depend More on Remittances
Remittance dependence is highest in smaller or lower-income economies where a significant share of the workforce migrates abroad. The money sent home supports household spending, education, housing, and basic consumption, giving remittances an outsized role in the domestic economy.
This reliance can be a double-edged sword. While remittances are often more stable than foreign investment during downturns, countries that depend on them are more exposed to changes in host-country labor markets, migration policy, and transfer costs.
Big Economies, Smaller Shares
Interestingly, some of the world’s largest recipients of remittances, like India, Mexico, and the Philippines, do not rank as highly when measured as a share of GDP. For example:
- India receives massive inflows in absolute terms but remittances account for just 3.5% of GDP.
- Mexico sees a similar pattern, with 3.6% of GDP tied to remittances.
- The Philippines stands higher at 8.7%, reflecting a more migration-driven economy.
Simply put: large economies have more diversified sources of income, diluting the relative impact of remittances.
The Cost of Sending Money Home
Despite their importance, remittances can come with high transaction costs. In fact, some countries face the highest remittance fees globally, reducing the amount families ultimately receive.
Lowering these costs remains a key goal for policymakers and international organizations, as even small reductions can significantly boost household income in remittance-dependent nations.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
To explore how money moves across borders, check out Global Remittance Flows on the Voronoi app.