Annual value of outgoing and incoming remittance flow in the U.S. 2021, by country

Money transfers to other countries outside the United States were nearly 30 times higher in 2021 than money received. Remittances refer to cross-border payments to family or friends and are often associated with migrant workers sending money back home to friends or relatives back in their communities of origin. It is estimated that about one in seven people worldwide are involved with remittances - substantially impacting payment behavior in, especially, Asia and Latin America. For the United States, the top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 included Mexico, India, Guatemala, the Philippines, and China. The five main sources for remittances in the U.S. were Mexico, Canada, the UK, Puerto Rico, and Germany.