GCC worker remittances hit $131.5bn in 2023, global highest after US

The total remittances of workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to foreign destinations amounted to $131.5 billion by the end of 2023, according to the latest data released by the GCC Statistical Centre.

The volume of workers’ remittances from GCC countries is the highest globally, followed by remittances from the United States.

The GCC workers’ remittances in 2023, however, is a tad lower – by 0.4 per cent or $500 million – compared to the previous year, the centre’s data indicated.

This comes after significant increases recorded in 2021 and 2022, which saw growth rates of 9.2 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively.

Additionally, the share of these remittances as a percentage of the GCC’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices declined from 8.1 per cent in 2020 to 6 per cent in 2022, before experiencing a slight increase in 2023, settling at 6.2 per cent, the data showed.