ABU DHABI 1 June 2019: India was the leading destination for outward personal remittances from the UAE during 2018, according to figures included in the annual report of the UAE Central Bank, released this week.
An analysis of the Central Bank report carried in the Abu Dhabi daily newspaper, The National, showed that 38.1 percent of the total outflow of Dh169.2 billion had gone to India. The paper quoted the Central Bank report as noting that this was “in accordance with the significant share of expats from India working in the UAE and the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the dirham.”
- India was followed as a destination by
- Pakistan (9.5 percent)
- Philippines (7.2 percent)
- Egypt (5.3 percent)
- US (3.9 percent)
- UK (3.7 percent)
Total remittances in 2018 were Dh4.8 billion, or 3 percent, higher than the 2017 figure of Dh164.4 billion. Remittances in 2016 were Dh160.8 billion.
Money remitted through exchange houses increased by 6 percent from Dh121.6bn in 2017 to Dh128.9bn last year, while the amount sent through banks decreased by 5.6 percent from Dh42.7bn to Dh40.3bn.
