KARACHI: The latest statistics from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), issued on Friday, show that remittances by expatriate Pakistani laborers rose by 34.7 per cent in the first four months of the current financial year 2025, hitting $11.8 billion as opposed to $8.8 billion during the same interval last year.
The remittance growth recorded a 24 per cent year-on-year growth in October, with month-on-month growth of 6.7 per cent amounting to $3.05 billion.
This increase in remittance inflows comes at a critical juncture when Pakistan is seeking to raise $26 billion to meet external debt repayment requirements for the ongoing fiscal year. Considering the nation is currently under such obligation, these remittances are expected to alleviate some external debt servicing pressure however since the current account is barely in deficit at $98 million.
It is expected that the enhanced growth in remittances will also help improve the foreign exchange reserves of the SBP as there is a regular flow of dollars to the central bank from the interbank market. It actually spent $1.2 billion in the months of June and July only.
The largest portion of remittance inflows was from Saudi Arabia, which sent $2.923 billion in July-October and increased by 37 per cent. Yet, the most significant expansion took place from the UAE, with remittances increasing by 55.8 pre cent to $2.33 billion.
US and UK remittances also posted stark increases of 14 per cent and 38.7 per cent respectively, attaining $1.199 billion and $1.771 billion. Inflows from the other banks within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as countries within the European Union, also grew by 19.3 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
