Remittances sent by expats to their relatives in the Dominican Republic are up 10.2% in the first nine months of the year. The Central Bank reports these have increased from US$4,415.3 million from January to September 2017 to US$4,866.4 million for the same period in 2018, according to a story in Diario Libre. If the present flow of remittances continues, 2018 would end with an eight-year record. In 2017 total remittances were US$4,911.8 million, according to the Central Bank.
The Central Bank says that remittances make up 22% of all the hard currency that has entered the economy. Most of the remittances, or 77.34%, have come from the United States. Next were remittances from Spain (10.58%), Haiti (1.41%) and Italy (1.30%). There are also large Dominican populations that send remittances and are located in Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Panama, Germany, France and Canada.
The average remittance is US$221.14. But those living in Switzerland, nevertheless, on average send remittances of US$351.3. Those living in Spain and France also send above average remittances of US$343.7 and US$323.8, respectively.
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Diario Libre
7 November 2018
