Muscat – The total remittances sent by expatriate workers in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reached RO50.6bn (US$131.5bn) at the end of 2023, according to data released by GCC Statistical Center.

The figure places the GCC countries at the top of the global remittance rankings, ahead of the United States.

However, the data also reveals a slight dip in remittances compared to previous year. The total amount sent in 2023 decreased by nearly US$500mn, or 0.4%, following significant increases in 2021 and 2022 – 9.2% and 3.8%, respectively.

While the share of remittances in the Gulf’s GDP has been declining, it remained relatively stable in 2023. The share dropped from 8.1% in 2020 to 6% in 2022, before rising slightly to 6.2% in 2023.

India is one of the top beneficiaries. In 2022, the foreign inward remittances to India from the UAE as a share of remittances from across the world was 18%, the highest among other GCC nations. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait followed with over 5.1% and 2.4% share respectively. Next was Oman (1.6%) and Qatar (1.5%); data for Bahrain was unavailable.