The U.S. was Colombia's main country of origin for remittances in 2021 but not its main destination, according to a country ranking on the flow of such money transfers. 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 Colombia, the top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 included Spain, Ecuador, the United States, France, and Mexico. Colombia's five main sources for remittances were - by a large margin - the United States and Venezuela, followed by Spain, Ecuador, and Chile.
Value of personal remittances sent from/to Colombia to/from other countries or territories worldwide in 2021
(in million U.S. dollars)
Country or territory
Remittances sent from Colombia
Remittances received in Colombia
Net balance in Colombia (remittances received minus remittances sent)
Remittance figures have a publication delay. Numbers cover 2021, but were reported in late 2022; All numbers are in current (nominal) U.S. dollars; See the "Details" tab for more information on the source methodology.
Supplementary notes
All figures are estimates and have been calculated by the source using migrant stocks from 2021. The source adds the following information:
No numbers are available for Venezuela;
Due to political and economic situations, the flows between certain countries were considered to be 0 (zero). These countries included: India and Pakistan (and vice versa), Lebanon and Israel (and vice versa), and Azerbaijan and Armenia (and vice versa);
The source emphasizes several times that the numbers provided are estimates, as the data suffers from several issues. These relate to, for example, the frequency of migrant data updating per country, the lack of data on informal money transfers or the possibility of retirees moving abroad but then withdrawing savings from their country of origin.
The source uses the definition of remittances set in BPM 6 - the Sixth Edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual. Personal remittances refer to the sum of "personal transfers", "compensation of employees" - both of which are available for calculation - and "capital transfers between households" and is not the same as total remittances. However, due to limited data tracking on remittances, there is no value difference between personal remittances and total remittances, despite the technical difference.
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Statista. (December 18, 2022). Value of personal remittances sent from/to Colombia to/from other countries or territories worldwide in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 03, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451036/bilateral-remittances-colombia/
Statista. "Value of personal remittances sent from/to Colombia to/from other countries or territories worldwide in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars)." Chart. December 18, 2022. Statista. Accessed October 03, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451036/bilateral-remittances-colombia/
Statista. (2022). Value of personal remittances sent from/to Colombia to/from other countries or territories worldwide in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 03, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451036/bilateral-remittances-colombia/
Statista. "Value of Personal Remittances Sent From/to Colombia To/from Other Countries or Territories Worldwide in 2021 (in Million U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 18 Dec 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451036/bilateral-remittances-colombia/
Statista, Value of personal remittances sent from/to Colombia to/from other countries or territories worldwide in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451036/bilateral-remittances-colombia/ (last visited October 03, 2024)
Value of personal remittances sent from/to Colombia to/from other countries or territories worldwide in 2021 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph], Statista, December 18, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451036/bilateral-remittances-colombia/