India remained the world’s top recipient of remittances in 2024, with Indians sending home more than $137 billion, according to a report by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). According to the World Migration Report 2026, released on Tuesday, India is the only country to have crossed $100 billion in remittances.
“India consistently leads as the main recipient of remittances, followed by Mexico,” the report said.
India was followed by Mexico, the Philippines and France in 2024 as the top four remittance-receiving countries in the world, the report said.
Read also | Explainer | Why India wants WTO to address cross-border payment costs
“However, India continued to significantly outperform others, receiving more than US$137 billion and remaining the only country to surpass US$100 billion,” he noted.
How many Indians are they sending home
As of 2010, India is the world’s highest recipient of remittances, receiving $53.48 billion, which has grown over the years to $68.91 billion in 2015, $83.15 billion in 2020, and $137.67 billion in 2024.
Read also | Sending money abroad in 2026? Check Forms 145 and 146 for reimbursement
The report said the distribution of remittances also varies between regions, with South Asia estimated to experience the highest growth of 11.8 percent in 2024, thanks to continued strong remittances to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Best remittance senders
High-income countries are almost always the main source of international remittances. For decades, the United States has consistently been the world’s top remittance-sending country, with total outflows exceeding $100 billion in 2024. It was followed by Saudi Arabia (over $46 billion), Switzerland (around $40 billion), and Germany (almost $24 billion).
Read also | With anti-immigration sentiment at its peak, foreign remittances to education are falling
Asia has the largest number of foreign students
The report also states that countries in Asia continue to account for the largest share of internationally mobile students. In 2022, more than one million international students came from China, the single largest country of origin in the world. India ranked second with more than 620,000 students abroad.
Outside of these two leading countries, country of origin numbers drop considerably: Uzbekistan (150,000), Vietnam (134,000) and Germany (126,000) follow, while the United States, France, Nigeria, the Syrian Arab Republic and Nepal each had between 95,000 and 115,000 students studying abroad. More than half of the world’s internationally mobile students live in European and North American countries.
India is turning brain drain into brain gain
The Indian diaspora has played a key role in the expansion of India’s technology sector, it said.
The report pointed out that protecting the role of migration in development also means addressing the problem of “brain drain” and turning it into “brain gain”. When skilled workers emigrate, countries of origin may lose human capital, but tailored policies can spread knowledge to the benefit of both countries of origin and destination.
“India’s brainstorming efforts include annual diaspora conventions and innovation centers to lure Indian scientists and entrepreneurs back (or mentor startups remotely), while Chinese initiatives such as the Thousand Talents plan have successfully attracted thousands of overseas Chinese academics to return and support domestic R&D. However, such programs may have mixed results, regardless of long-term benefits,” it said.
(With PTI inputs)
Key things
- India crossed USD 137 billion in remittances in 2024, maintaining its status as the top recipient globally.
- The growth in remittances reflects the significant contribution of the Indian diaspora to the economy.
- Addressing brain drain through initiatives such as diaspora conventions can turn emigration into brain gain.
