Bangladesh ranked among top 10 recipients of remittance in 2008

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A Z M Anas
Bangladesh retained its position among the world's top 10 recipients of remittances last year, according to the World Bank, as record overseas jobs helped keep the flow intact.
The flow of remittances the country hauled in reached US$8.9 billion in 2008 after more than 800,000 Bangladeshis entered the international job market, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) becoming the biggest employer.
In 2007 also, the country was on the list of top 10 recipients.
In its Outlook for Remittance Flows (2008-2010), the Washington-based lender said the country beat even Pakistan in terms of receipt of workers' money during 2008. Pakistan received $7.1 billion in the same period.
"No other country in the world fared so well compared to Bangladesh. Remittances posted a healthy 28 per cent growth in 2008 from that of a year earlier," Ahsan H Monsur, a former economist with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said Sunday.
"It's not a doomsday scenario (for Bangladesh). I don't think there would be a significant fall in the flow of remittances in 2009 and beyond. Remittances are not going to slide in absolute dollar terms," he said.
As the worst economic crisis threatened to slow global growth, the bank warned that remittance flows from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries are likely to fall more than those from the US and Europe, affecting recipient countries in the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia."
But Mr Monsur disagreed with the bank's assessment, saying that as long as petroleum prices hover close to $50 a barrel, the Gulf economies are not cutting back investment projects.
Remittances from oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounted for 63 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively, of the remittance inflows of Bangladesh and Pakistan.
"If per barrel oil prices go back to the level of $60-$70, the Middle-eastern countries will ramp up production and review the stalled investment projects. And that will help keep the flow of remittances flowing from the region," he added.
He said Bangladesh is set to draw in between $9.5 and $10 billion this year, accounting for more than 10 per cent of GDP.
With $9.0 billion in remittances, Romania upped its position in the ranking.
India rose to the top slot with $30 billion leaving all-time leader China trailing this time behind.
According to the new estimates, India, China and Mexico maintained their positions as the top 3 recipients of remittances among developing countries in 2008.
Philippines, Poland, Nigeria and Egypt are also on the top 10 recipients' list.
By contrast, the report said the top recipients in terms of the remittances' share in GDP included many smaller economies such as Tajikistan (45 per cent), Moldova (38 per cent), Tonga (35 per cent), Lesotho (29 per cent), and Honduras (25 per cent).
"Migration flows from developing countries may slow as a result of the global growth slowdown, but the international migrants from developing countries are unlikely to decrease," the bank said.
According to newly available data from the IMF Balance of Payments statistics, remittance flows to developing countries reached $265 billion in 2007, up from the previous estimate of $251 billion.