In October 2023, remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis saw a notable 10 percent year-on-year increase, reaching $2.46 billion compared to the $2.24 billion recorded in the same month the previous year. This marks the highest level of remittances since March 2023, as reported by Arif Habib Limited.
On a month-on-month basis, October 2023 witnessed an 11.5 percent increase in remittances compared to September 2023, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Breaking down the figures, the leading contributors to these remittances were Saudi Arabia at $617 million, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at $474 million, the United Kingdom (UK) at $330 million, European Union (EU) countries at $298 million, and the United States (US) at $283 million.
Specifically, remittances from Saudi Arabia increased by 6 percent year-on-year, while those from the UAE and the US saw year-on-year increases of 11 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Inflows from European Union (EU) countries experienced a substantial rise of 28 percent, and remittances from the UK grew by 18 percent.
However, over the first four months of the fiscal year 2023-24 (4MFY24), the cumulative remittances amounted to $8.79 billion, reflecting a 13 percent decrease compared to the $10.14 billion recorded in the same period of the preceding fiscal year.
