Pakistan Receives Record-Breaking Workers’ Remittances in September

Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis increased by 29 percent year-on-year (YoY) to $2.85 billion in September 2024 compared to inflows of $2.2 billion registered in the same period last year. According to Topline Securities, this is the highest amount ever received in September. On a month-on-month basis, workers’ remittances are down 3 percent compared to $2.94 billion in August 2024. A breakdown of the numbers shows that the highest inflows were registered from Saudi Arabia, coming in at $681 million, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at $560 million, the United Kingdom (UK) at $424 million, European Union (EU) countries at $365 million, and the United States (US) at $275 million, The inflows from Saudi Arabia were up 27 percent YoY, while the inflows from UAE, and the US were up by 40 percent YoY and 4 percent YoY, respectively. The inflows from European Union (EU) countries registered an increase of 35 percent YoY while that from the UK increased by 36 percent. In 1QFY25, remittances increased by 39 percent YoY to US$ 8.8 billion. According to Arif Habib Limited, these are the highest-ever quarterly remittances. This surge was driven by the stability of the PKR exchange rate, a narrowing gap between open and interbank market rates, and a rise in the number of workers relocating abroad.