Remittances contributing big to Caribbean GDP

The amount of remittance to Guyana increased more than eight times between 2000 and 2007, going from US$27 million to US$218 million, said the report, contained in the ‘Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008’, released this month. Most of the remittances

WASHINGTON DC, United States, August 7, 2008 - A 2008 World Bank report has revealed that remittances are contributing significantly to Caribbean economies.

The situation is particularly stark in Guyana as increasing numbers of Guyanese leave home to live elsewhere. The report pointed out that the money they are sending back home is playing a growing role in the country’s economy.

The amount of remittance to Guyana increased more than eight times between 2000 and 2007, going from US$27 million to US$218 million, said the report, contained in the ‘Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008’, released this month. Most of the remittances came from the United States.

The situation is similar in Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

Remittances made up almost 22 per cent of Haiti’s GDP in 2006 and more than doubled since 2000, going from US$578 million to US$1,184 million.

Jamaican remittances made up more than 18 per cent of that country’s GDP. The figure more than doubled since 2000, going from US$892 million to US$2 billion.

In the Dominican Republic, remittances made up more than 10 per cent of the GDP and almost doubled since 2000, going from US$1.8 billion to US$3.2 billion.

And while remittances to Trinidad and Tobago made up only 0.5 per cent of the GDP, they more than doubled since 2000, going from US$38 million to US$92 million.

The US was the largest source of the remittances for all four countries.

The remittance figures are a reflection of a larger trend that increasing numbers of people, particularly the well educated, are emigrating from these countries.

In 2005, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were in the top five of countries with the largest proportion of their population emigrating. Jamaica, with 39 per cent of its population emigrating, is number one, followed by Trinidad and Tobago, with 28 per cent of its population moving away.

Suriname, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago respectively made up the top five of countries losing large numbers of their tertiary educated citizens to emigration in 2000. Suriname lost 90 per cent of its tertiary educated, Guyana 86 per cent, Jamaica 83 per cent, Haiti 82 per cent, and Trinidad and Tobago 78 per cent. (CaribWorldNews)