Debt, Climate, and South-South Cooperation

Remittances — money sent home by international migrants to family members in their countries of origin — have grown into one of the largest and most stable sources of external finance for developing countries, surpassing both foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined in many recent years. According to World Bank estimates, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached approximately $669 billion in 2023, dwarfing global ODA of roughly $223 billion in the same period. India has consistently ranked as the world's largest single recipient, receiving well over $100 billion annually by the early 2020s, followed by Mexico, China, and the Philippines, while for smaller economies such as Tajikistan and Tonga remittances have at times constituted more than a third of GDP. Because remittances flow directly to households, they tend to be used for immediate consumption needs, and research has generally found them to reduce poverty and smooth household consumption during economic shocks, functioning as an informal insurance mechanism, though critics note they can also foster dependency and contribute to currency appreciation in high-recipient economies.