Remittances From Europe's Migrant Workers Exceeded $109Bln in 2014

Migrant workers living in Europe sent as much as $109.4 billion in remittances to their home countries in 2014. Most of the remittances were sent from Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, according to UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Migrant workers living in Europe sent as much as $109.4 billion in remittances to their home countries in 2014, UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) found Monday.

According to IFAD, most of the remittances were sent from Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Around a third of all remittances went to Balkan and Baltic states, as well as Eastern Europe. The rest was sent to developing countries around the world.

Just released: report on European #remittances http://t.co/dvan5MhsJf | Follow #IDFR2015 #GFRD2015 for updates pic.twitter.com/wsZpHp2gIO

— IFAD (@IFADnews) June 15, 2015

The cost of sending #remittances, new data June 2015 via @WorldBank @WBG_Finance http://t.co/gfjM4PvH4Z #GFRD2015 pic.twitter.com/FPQT96Uo4l

— IFAD (@IFADnews) June 15, 2015

As many as 150 million people are estimated to have benefited from the remittances.

The IFAD’s report documents that 40 percent of remittances were sent to rural areas. The fund recommended providing migrant families with improved access to financial services, as well as technical assistance for business development and education programs.

Earlier on Monday, Kanayo Nwanze, the president of IFAD, told The Financial Times in an interview that the migrant workers in Europe were an "underestimated and under-appreciated" force strengthening local economies.