Caribbean remittances surge as migrants send $728.6 billion home
Key Points(5)
- Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the fastest growth in remittances of any region over the past decade, as the amount of money migrants sent home to low- and middle-income countries worldwide nearly doubled, according to a new United Nations report.
- Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean surged 132% between 2016 and 2025, reaching $168.6 billion last year, according to the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD.
- Globally, migrants sent $728.6 billion to families in low- and middle-income countries in 2025, a 94% increase over the amount recorded a decade earlier.
- The growth far outpaced the 28% increase in the number of migrants from those countries over the same period, indicating that migrants are, on average, sending more money home.
- Some 220 million migrants and members of diaspora communities now support an estimated 1.1 billion relatives, IFAD said.
Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the fastest growth in remittances of any region over the past decade, as the amount of money migrants sent home to low- and middle-income countries worldwide nearly doubled, according to a new United Nations report.
Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean surged 132% between 2016 and 2025, reaching $168.6 billion last year, according to the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD.
Globally, migrants sent $728.6 billion to families in low- and middle-income countries in 2025, a 94% increase over the amount recorded a decade earlier.
The growth far outpaced the 28% increase in the number of migrants from those countries over the same period, indicating that migrants are, on average, sending more money home.
Some 220 million migrants and members of diaspora communities now support an estimated 1.1 billion relatives, IFAD said.
“This report is about financial flows of extraordinary scale. But more importantly, it is about families,” Pedro de Vasconcellos, manager of IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, told reporters at U.N. headquarters Monday.
Individual transfers are typically between $300 and $400 and are sent nine or 10 times a year, according to de Vasconcellos.
The $728.6 billion sent home in 2025 was more than four times the amount of global official development assistance and also exceeded foreign direct investment to low- and middle-income countries.
The findings have particular significance for the Caribbean, where remittances remain an important source of income for millions of households and a major source of foreign exchange for several economies.
In Jamaica, remittances reached a record US$3.49 billion in 2025, up 3.8% from US$3.36 billion a year earlier, according to Bank of Jamaica data reported by The Gleaner. Remittances were equivalent to about 15.3% of Jamaica's gross domestic product in 2024 and exceeded tourism receipts and foreign direct investment.
More recent data show that those flows have continued to grow in 2026. Net remittances to Jamaica rose 9.3% year over year to US$292.8 million in June, the strongest monthly increase recorded during the first half of the year. Total inflows for January through June reached US$1.78 billion, 4.2% higher than during the same period in 2025.
However, the increase has not been evenly distributed across the island.
The Gleaner reported this month that Jamaicans overseas sent US$1.85 billion through remittance companies during the seven months following Hurricane Melissa, from November 2025 through May 2026, an increase of 7.7% over the same period a year earlier.
Kingston and St. Andrew accounted for US$79.6 million of the US$132.5 million increase — about 60 cents of every additional dollar sent to Jamaica during the period. Remittance inflows to the capital climbed 11.8%.
That contrasted sharply with some of the western parishes hardest hit by Melissa. St. James, Hanover, Trelawny and Westmoreland collectively received US$223.2 million during the seven-month period, an increase of just US$9 million, or 4.2%.
St. Elizabeth, where Black River was devastated by the hurricane, recorded an increase of 4.1%, or US$4.4 million. St. James, which includes Montego Bay, received US$82.4 million — unchanged from the amount received during the seven months before the storm.
The geographic shift predates Melissa. Between 2021 and 2025, remittances collected in Kingston and St. Andrew increased 15.3%, while inflows to the rest of Jamaica declined 4.8%, according to the parish-level Bank of Jamaica data cited by The Gleaner.
The United States remains by far the most important source of remittances for Jamaica and the wider Latin American and Caribbean region. In June, about two-thirds of Jamaica's inflows originated in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom at 10.8%, Canada at 9.3% and the Cayman Islands at 6.3%.
That dependence also creates vulnerabilities, IFAD warned, as deportations, restrictions on migrant employment or weaker labor demand in the United States could reduce both the number of people sending money and the amount they are able to send.
Despite tougher immigration policies in the United States and parts of Europe, IFAD said the effects have not yet translated into an overall decline in remittances.
“Figures right now do not show actually a reduction in remittances,” de Vasconcellos said, noting that migrants often continue prioritizing their families' needs during periods of economic or political uncertainty.
Several Central American economies are particularly dependent on the money migrants send home. Remittances were equivalent to 30% of Honduras' gross domestic product in 2025, 28% in El Salvador and 27% in Nicaragua.
A study cited by IFAD also found that 61% of returnees surveyed in Guatemala had previously been the main income earner for their household, illustrating how deportation or other forms of involuntary return can abruptly cut off income for families.
While Latin America and the Caribbean experienced the fastest growth, Asia and the Pacific remained the world's largest recipient region, receiving $384.9 billion in 2025, or 53% of the global total.
Africa received $124.2 billion, an 86% increase over the decade, with Egypt overtaking Nigeria as the continent's largest recipient.
About three-quarters of remittances are used to meet immediate needs, including food, shelter and utilities. The remaining quarter — more than $180 billion annually — goes toward health care, education, housing, savings and businesses.
Nearly $233 billion, or about one-third of all remittances, flowed into rural economies in 2025, where employment opportunities, financial services and public infrastructure are often more limited.
IFAD said remittances have also become an important tool for families responding to climate-related disasters and other shocks, helping replace lost income and finance rebuilding.
De Vasconcellos cautioned, however, that remittances are private resources intended to support families and “cannot substitute” for government investment, social protection, humanitarian assistance or climate finance.
The report also found that while more than half of remittances now begin digitally, just 35% of services measured in 2025 were fully digital from sender to recipient.
Digital transfers cost an average of about 4.6% of the amount sent, compared with 7.3% for non-digital services.
“Technologies really can help. But it’s not enough,” de Vasconcellos said.
IFAD is calling for cheaper and more transparent remittance services, expanded access to financial services and greater opportunities for recipient families to save, obtain insurance and invest their money.
