Overseas Filipinos sent a record-breaking $37.2 billion in personal remittances to the Philippines in 2023, up by 3.0 percent from $36.1 billion in 2022, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
This translates into a monthly average of $3.1 billion, with December 2023 hitting a peak of $3.6 billion from $3.5 billion in the same period in 2022.
“The robust inward remittances reflected the rise in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers [OFWs] due to the continuous increase in demand for foreign workers in host countries,” the BSP said.
The BSP said the full-year 2023 remittances represented 8.5 percent and 7.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national income (GNI), respectively.
Data showed that of the personal remittances, cash remittances coursed through banks reached $3.3 billion in December 2023, higher by 3.8 percent than $3.2 billion in the same month in 2022.
“The growth in cash remittances in December 2023 was primarily due to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.
Full-year cash remittances also reached an all-time high of $33.5 billion in 2023, representing a 2.9-percent growth from $32.5 billion in 2022.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in 2023, according to the BSP.
Data showed that in terms of the countries where these remittances originated, the US had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Cash remittances support various sectors in the economy including banking, real estate, transportation and retail and keep the balance of payments healthy.