MANILA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached 3.42 billion U.S. dollars in October 2024, 2.7 percent higher than the figure recorded in October 2023, the Philippine central bank said Monday.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the cumulative personal remittances in the first 10 months of this year rose 3 percent to 31.49 billion dollars.
The BSP said the growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the spike in remittances in January-October 2024.
With an estimated 10 million Filipinos living or working overseas, personal remittances remain vital to the Philippines' foreign exchange source.
According to the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines is among the top 10 global recipients of remittances.
The BSP data showed that personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached an all-time high of 37.2 billion dollars in 2023, 3 percent higher than the amount recorded in 2022. The full-year 2023 remittances represented 8.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product. ■
