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Rabat – France, Spain, and Italy continue to be the largest source of remittances flowing to Morocco, a recent report from Office d’Echange (OE) shows.
The three European countries accounted for a staggering 57% of the overall volume of remittances sent to Morocco in 2022, the OE report explains.
At the end of 2022, the volume of remittances reached record-high levels, settling at MAD 110.7 billion ($11.1 billion), a 16% increase from last year’s MAD 95.5 billion ($9.5 billion). The average annual growth rate for remittances between 2019 and 2022 is now at 19.4%.
The rise in the inflow of remittances extended to the majority of the main source countries, namely France with a 17.9% increase, followed by Spain with a 10.9% increase, Italy with a 26.2% rise, and Saudi Arabia with 23.5%.
Regarding the share of each country, France remains the top source country, accounting for 32% of the remittance, followed by Spain with 13%, Italy with 11.5%, and Saudi Arabia with 7.6%.
Over the past five years, remittances from Canada recorded the highest growth rate at 28%, followed by Spain with 27.6%, and Italy with 20%.
Remittances are of strategic importance to Morocco, as they provide a stable source of foreign currency.
Together with tourism, remittances represent the country’s prime source of foreign currency and represent a source of income for thousands of families. The inflow of remittances stands consistently above even the inflows of FDI.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, remittances provided a vital source of income to Moroccan families.
“Remittances are of vital importance as they provide a source of the livelihood of many families.” In Morocco, the 37% “historic” increase in the volume of remittances marked the country’s post-pandemic economic rebound in 2021, Morocco’s central bank governor, Abdellatif Jouahri said in January 2023.
Read Also: Remittances from Moroccan Diaspora Hit $10.75 Billion in 2022
