Remittances
How much money leaves the UK in remittances, and which countries receive the most.
Latest official outflow
$12.3bn
World Bank estimate for remittances paid from the UK in 2024.
Largest destination
India
Latest bilateral estimate: £4.46bn in 2021.
Method note
2021 split is latest
The Migration Observatory notes that country-by-country public estimates currently stop at 2021.
Section 1
Remittance payments leaving the UK since 1990
This chart uses the World Bank's official personal remittances, paid series for the United Kingdom. It is shown in current U.S. dollars so we can carry the series back to 1990 on a consistent basis.
UK remittances paid abroad, 1990-2024
Current US$, billions
Section 2
Who receives the most remittance payments from the UK?
The latest publicly available destination-country split is for 2021. The ranking below follows the Migration Observatory briefing, which cites the World Bank's Bilateral Remittance Matrix.
Top destination countries for remittances from the UK
Estimated bilateral remittance flows, 2021, GBP
Official remittance figures are best treated as underestimates, because they mainly capture formal channels such as banks and money transfer operators. The Migration Observatory notes that informal or unrecorded transfers are not fully visible in these datasets. It also notes that bilateral public estimates have been discontinued after 2021, so newer destination-country rankings are not currently available from the same source.
Sources