Fears expressed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic that the Caribbean, among other regions, would have to endure a protracted period of significantly reduced remittances proved unfounded as officially recorded remittance flows to low and middle income countries reached US$540 billion in 2020, reflecting a less than anticipated 1.6 per cent decline against the 2019 figure of $548 billion, according to the World Bank’s most recent Migration and Development Brief. The Brief is prepared every six months by the Bank’s Migration and Development Unit and aims to provide updates on key developments in the area of migration and remittance flows and related policies over the past six months. It also provides medium-term projections of remittance flows to developing countries.
