Morocco Second Largest Recipient of Remittances in MENA

Rabat – The flow of remittances to Morocco stood at $9.3 billion in 2021, making 7.4% of the North African country’s Gross Domestic Production.

As the largest provider of migrants among North African countries, Morocco experienced a rapid increase in remittances from Moroccans working abroad, according to a recent World Bank publication on immigration trends amid COVID19.

Offset by a post-COVID return to economic growth in the European Union (EU) and GCC countries, developing economies in the MENA region recorded a 9.7% growth in remittances in 2021, totaling $62 billion (MAD 574.1 billion), according to the World Bank.

Titled “COVID-19 crisis through a migration lens,” the World Bank report argues that the increase in remittances is likely caused by an increase in the number of teleworkers.

In the case of Morocco, despite the high concentration of Moroccan migrants in European countries, the largest share of remittances is rather sourced from the United States. Following are Saudi Arabia with 12%, and France in third place with 10%.

Migrants transiting to Europe through North African countries have likely contributed to bolstering the flow of remittances to said countries, according to the report.

Some of the migrants transiting to Europe through the Middle East and North Africa often receive substantial sums of money from their countries of origin, favorably contributing to the host country’s economy.

Transit migrants likely account for 20-38% of 65,000–120,000 Sub-Saharan African migrants crossing the MENA region borders annually, according to data compiled by the think tank Migration Policy Institute.

The think tank further suggests that Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are a destination for seasonal waves of migrants with no intention to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Meanwhile, the World Bank projects that the number of transit migrants is likely to skyrocket amid the far-reaching economic repercussions of the COVID crisis in Sub-Saharan African countries.

As a result, the growth in remittances sent for migrants unable to cross to Europe is likely to continue on an upward trajectory.