Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua are all countries where about three out of every ten dollars earned at home comes not from local jobs, farms or factories — but from relatives working abroad. That is the quiet engine behind a staggering number: migrants sent $728.6 billion home to low and middle-income countries in 2025, nearly double what they sent a decade earlier.
These transfers, known as remittances, grew by 94 per cent between 2016 and 2025. That is far faster than the 28 per cent rise in the number of migrants during the same period — meaning growth is not just about more people leaving, but migrants abroad sending larger amounts home. Roughly 220 million migrants and diaspora members support an estimated 1.1 billion relatives.
Behind the billions are everyday transfers worth $300 to $400, sent nine or ten times a year. “This report is about financial flows of extraordinary scale. But more importantly, it is about families,” said Pedro de Vasconcellos, who manages IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances. Last year, the total sent home was more than four times all official development assistance combined, and it also beat foreign direct investment to low and middle-income countries.
Yet this reliance cuts both ways. Latin America and the Caribbean saw the fastest growth of any region, up 132 per cent to $168.6 billion, with the United States the dominant source. But the report warns that deportations, employment restrictions or weaker labour demand can shrink both the number of people sending money and their ability to do so. Central America is among the most exposed: remittances equalled 30 per cent of GDP in Honduras in 2025, 28 per cent in El Salvador and 27 per cent in Nicaragua. A study cited by IFAD found 61 per cent of returnees surveyed in Guatemala had been the main income earner in their household — meaning an involuntary return can suddenly cut off income for the family left behind.
Asia and the Pacific remained the largest recipient region, taking in $384.9 billion, or 53 per cent of the global total. Africa received $124.2 billion in 2025, up 86 per cent over the decade, with Egypt overtaking Nigeria as the continent’s largest recipient.
Around three quarters of remittances go to immediate needs like food, shelter and utilities. The rest — more than $180 billion a year — funds healthcare, education, housing, savings and businesses. Almost $233 billion, about one dollar in every three sent home, reached rural economies where jobs and services are scarcest. Remittance-receiving households also invest an estimated $22 billion a year in rural agrifood systemscars, and the flows help families cope with climate shocks, from replacing lost income to rebuilding after disasters.
More than half of remittances now begin digitally, but only 35 per cent of services measured in 2025 were fully digital from sender to recipient. Digital transfers are cheaper — about 4.6 per cent on average versus 7.3 per cent for non-digital services — yet cash collection remains common. “Technologies really can help, but it’s not enough,” Mr. de Vasconcellos said)Skip. He stressed these are private family resources that “cannot substitute” for public investment, social protection or climate finance. IFAD is calling for cheaper, more transparent transfers, better access to financial services and more ways for families to save, insure and invest. Figures right now show no broad drop in remittances, he added, because family needs keep flows resilient even during crises.