Migrant Remittances to Developing Countries Represent Significant Financial Flows
Despite the various crises that the international economy has faced and their negative impact on private capital flows, the volume of remittances has remained relatively stable, even showing a growth dynamic. Remittances from Tunisians abroad have seen a significant increase between 2013 and 2023.
This trend continued in 2024, where remittances from the Tunisian diaspora reached a value of 8.2 billion TND, equivalent to approximately 6.5% of GDP, and are experiencing a significant upward trend in 2025. The Press — To present the experience of integrating the remittance component of Tunisians living abroad (TRE) into the 2026-2030 Five-Year Development Plan and proposed reform paths, the Office of the Economic Commission for North Africa, in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Planning, is organizing a regional workshop on remittances, investments, and their contribution to national development financing. The event is taking place today and tomorrow (September 24 and 25, 2025) in Tunis. It aims to analyze the capacity of the current regulatory and institutional framework to facilitate their contribution to investment and discuss reform proposals to maximize their impact as an alternative source of development financing. The workshop will also be an opportunity to present the experiences and best practices of participating member countries in optimizing the contribution of migrant remittances, strengthening South-South cooperation, and collaboration between African countries.
Significant Increase in Remittances from Tunisians
Despite a difficult global economic context, remittances from Tunisians abroad have seen a significant increase of 136% between 2013 and 2023 (8,817 MDT in 2023 compared to 3,721 MDT in 2013). This trend continued in 2024, with remittances from the Tunisian diaspora reaching a value of 8.2 billion MDT, equivalent to approximately 6.5% of GDP, and are experiencing a significant upward trend in 2025, having reached nearly 5.79 billion MDT by the end of August 2025, representing an increase of approximately 8.2% compared to the same period in 2024.
The evolution of Tunisian remittances is part of a global trend. In fact, remittances worldwide have shown greater resilience than other resource flows, such as foreign direct investment (FDI) or official development assistance (ODA). According to the ECA, remittances have increased by 55%, while FDI has decreased by 48% over the past decade. "It is also expected that the gap between remittances and ODA will widen further in the coming years."
Remittances from migrants to developing countries represent significant financial flows. Despite the various crises that the international economy has faced and their negative impact on private capital flows, the volume of remittances has remained relatively stable, even showing a growth dynamic. "At the international level, remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $656 billion in 2023, and the real weight of remittances is even more significant if we take into account those that pass through informal channels (World Bank, 2024)," the ECA notes. According to its analysis, the growth of migrant remittances has slowed significantly in 2023, to 0.7%, compared to 10.8% and 8.3% in 2021 and 2022, respectively, but the trend has reversed upward since 2024.
The MENA region has the highest growth rate of migrant remittances in 2024 (4.3%), with a potential growth rate of 5.5% for 2025. At the same time, "remittances have shown more resilience during financial crises than other resource flows, such as private debt, equity, and foreign direct investment." In fact, migrant remittances exceed the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA), and migrant remittances are expected to further widen the gap with FDI in the coming years. Over the past decade, they have increased by 55%, while FDI has declined by 48%. The gap between remittances and ODA is also expected to widen in the coming years.
Maximizing the Benefits of Remittances
In Tunisia, stakeholders are focused on managing and promoting the diaspora and remittance flows from Tunisians abroad, in order to ensure the effective implementation of policies and to propose and support initiatives that maximize the benefits of remittances for the country's development. The Tunisian diaspora plays a crucial role in the country's economy, particularly through remittances, which constitute an important source of foreign exchange. Remittances from Tunisians abroad have seen a constant increase, reflecting the strong ties between the diaspora and their country of origin.
In this context, income transfers, or transfers of savings and other income from work repatriated by TRE, represented 8,817 MDT in 2023 (with an annual increase of 5.4% compared to 2022), compared to 3,721 MDT in 2013, representing a significant increase of over 136% over the past decade.
These flows have continued to follow a high path, despite the successive shocks that have impacted the international economic situation in recent years. This dynamic has continued in the first half of 2024, with transfers reaching 4.5 billion dinars (including 3.7 billion in financial flows), compared to 4.3 billion dinars in the first half of 2023, representing an increase of 3%.
The latest monetary and financial indicators published by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) indicate that these transfers recorded a 4.6% increase by the end of December 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year. Over the entire year 2024, financial transfers from the Tunisian diaspora alone reached 8.2 billion dinars, representing approximately 6.5% of GDP.
ECA Support
As part of the contribution to the upcoming 2026-2030 National Five-Year Development Plan, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Economic Commission for Africa is providing technical support to integrate the remittance component, mobilization, and contribution of the diaspora as an alternative source of financing for sustainable development in Tunisia.
This contribution is being explored to identify the ways and means of optimizing and channeling it towards productive investments, while setting a set of recommendations, operational reforms, and a roadmap with a plan of public actions. Similarly, to ensure better optimization of the contribution of the Tunisian diaspora, support has been provided to analyze and evaluate the existing regulatory and institutional framework in Tunisia in the field of migration of Tunisians living abroad (TRE), in general, and in the area related to the contribution of remittances from TRE to investment, in particular.
