Remittance inflows to low- and middle-income countries reached US$728.6 billion in 2025 — more than four times global official development assistance that year and greater than foreign direct investment to those countries — according to Sending Money Home 2026, a report launched in Rome on 14 September by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Flows have risen 94% since 2016, outpacing both population growth and emigration from those countries.

The report estimates that 220 million migrants and diaspora members support 1.1 billion relatives, so that roughly one person in six worldwide is connected through remittances, which have remained one of the largest and most consistent sources of household finance over the decade, helping families meet basic needs, build resilience and invest even in times of crisis.

Almost one in three dollars sent home — an estimated US$233 billion — reached rural areas, where formal employment, financial services and public infrastructure are weakest and the money has the greatest effect. Remittance-receiving families invest an estimated US$22 billion a year in rural agrifood systems, supporting agricultural production, rural enterprises and employment.

'For millions of rural families, receiving remittances can be the first step towards generating savings and accessing insurance and appropriate credit,' said IFAD president Alvaro Lario, adding that in many contexts this 'helps expand opportunities so that migration becomes a choice rather than a necessity'. The report stresses that private flows cannot replace public investment, social protection or climate finance.

More than half of remittances now begin through a digital channel, which has made transfers cheaper, but cash still dominates many corridors and only 35% of the services measured in 2025 were fully digital at both the sending and receiving ends. IFAD calls on governments, regulators, financial institutions and development partners to make transfers cheaper and more transparent, serve rural areas better, build financial and digital capabilities and widen access to savings, insurance, credit and investment.

Source: IFAD