Expats’ remittances stabilise at end of November

AMMAN — According to the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) the total remittances of Jordanians working abroad amounted to $3.4 billion by the end of November 2017, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.  

The figure is equal to that recorded in the same period last year.

However, the CBJ reported at the end of May, 2017, that remittances of expats stood at JD1.05 billion, nearly JD17 million more than remittances registered during the same period of 2016, marking a 1.5 per cent increase.

A rise of 2.4 per cent was recorded in the first third of 2017, compared with the same period in the previous year.

Jordanian expatriates' remittances are one of the country's major foreign currency inflows, alongside commodity and service exports, grants, loans and foreign aid. 

As reported by the central bank Sunday, about 70 per cent of foreign remittances come from Gulf countries, and the rest from the United States and Europe.

Official figures estimate the number of Jordanian expatriates at around 750,000, the majority of whom lives in the Gulf states.

Over 300,000 Jordanian workers, mostly professionals and skilled labourers, are based in Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE, with nearly 200,000 people, according to the CBJ.