NEW DELHI : Global remittances are projected to plunge by about 20% in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the novel coronavirus and shutdown across countries, the World Bank has warned.
Remittances to South Asia is projected to fall by 22% to $109 billion this year, after a 6.1% growth in 2019, the multilateral agency said in a statement. “The deceleration in remittances to the South Asian region in 2020 is driven by the global economic slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak as well as oil price declines," World Bank said.
The economic slowdown is likely to directly affect remittance outflows from the US, the UK, and EU countries to South Asia. Falling oil prices will also affect remittance outflows from Gulf countries, it added.