Issue 120: Impact of COVID-19 on Remittance Inflows in Georgia
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, global remittance flows are expected to fall by 20% in 2020 (World Bank), while the decrease in Georgia is forecast at 15% (IMF);
- In the first half of 2020, remittances have declined by just 4.8% compared to the same period of 2019;
- Remittance inflows have been growing by an average of 8.5% over the past decade;
- The contribution of remittance inflows in GDP has increased significantly over time and amounted 11% on average for the period of 2015-2019;
- In 2020, remittance inflows saw a sharp drop (-42.3%) in April, however, the recovery in June was also strong (17.8%), compared to the same period of 2019;
- Remittances from Russia declined the most in the first half of 2020 compared to the first half of 2019 (-27%), while Italy recorded the strongest growth (14%).