Surprisingly much money is sent home by Hungarians working abroad

Hungarians working in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada sent the largest amount of money home among those working abroad in 2014, Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ (MTA) economic study, The Hungarian Labour Market 2015 reveals.

The largest sum of money (USD 952.2 million) was sent to Hungary from Germany in 2014; more than the amount sent from the United Kingdom (USD 396.3 million) and Australia (USD 361.1 million) together.

It is surprising that so much money has been sent to Hungary from the United States and Canada, as little could be heard – compared to other target countries for emigrants seeking their fortune abroad – about Hungarians emigrating to these countries. MTA’s study also reveals that Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Slovakia are similarly among the top countries from where Hungarian citizens transfer money back to their homeland.

It has been found that the amount of money sent to Hungary increased in two separate waves in the past two decades; first, after joining the European Union in 2004, and then after 2009.

Moreover, while only USD 280 million arrived to Hungary from abroad in 2000, the sum rose to USD 4473 million in 2014, which means that the amount of money sent to Hungary increased by almost 1600% in fifteen years.

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It is noteworthy that in the years following the entry to the EU, the amount of money sent to Hungary constituted about 1.5-2 % of GDP, while it already represented 3 % of GDP in 2014.

translated by Gábor Hajnal

Source: index.hu