Remittances of overseas Cambodian workers bounce back in 2021
Money transfers back into Cambodia from nationals working abroad improved in 2021 after a Covid-19 induced slump in the previous year, with around 1.3 million Cambodians working abroad sending home roughly $2.8 billion in 2021, according to the country’s labour minister Ith Samheng.
This marks a sharp uptick from $1.2 billion in remittances from migrant workers in 2020 when the remittance volume dropped 17 per cent from $1.5 billion in 2019, according to data from the National Bank of Cambodia.
The figures of the two institutions might not be directly comparable as the labour ministry likely includes estimations on informal transfers but represent a recovery nonetheless, experts say.
Almost half of migrant workers are female
The minister revealed the figures at an annual conference of the National Social Security Fund held on February 11, noting that around 529,000 of the migrant workers are female.
“The remittances have not only improved the livelihoods of their family members, but also contributed to boosting Cambodia’s economic growth,” Samheng said.
Most of the registered labourers – 1.22 million – are working in Thailand, while more than 45,000 are in South Korea, 23,027 in Malaysia, 11,453 in Japan, 821 in Singapore, 202 in Hong Kong and 43 in Saudi Arabia, he added.
Wage differences a major draw to work abroad
According to the International Labour Organisation, Cambodia is a major country of origin for migrant workers due to limited domestic opportunities and low salaries.
In the primary destination Thailand, Cambodian workers are commonly seeking employment in the fishing, agriculture, livestock, construction, manufacturing and service sectors, including domestic work.
Remittances are also seen to have been boosted by the launch of a new mobile cross-border remittance service with Malaysia using Cambodia’s recently introduced central bank-backed digital currency Bakong.
[caption id="attachment_38223" align="alignleft" width="300"] Cambodian migrant workers line up at the border to Thailand, their preferred destination[/caption] Money transfers back into Cambodia from nationals working abroad improved in 2021 after a Covid-19 induced slump in the previous year, with around 1.3 million Cambodians working abroad sending home roughly $2.8 billion in 2021, according to the country’s labour minister Ith Samheng. This marks a sharp uptick from $1.2 billion in remittances from migrant workers in 2020 when the remittance volume dropped 17 per cent from $1.5 billion in 2019, according to data from the National Bank of Cambodia. The figures of...
Money transfers back into Cambodia from nationals working abroad improved in 2021 after a Covid-19 induced slump in the previous year, with around 1.3 million Cambodians working abroad sending home roughly $2.8 billion in 2021, according to the country’s labour minister Ith Samheng.
This marks a sharp uptick from $1.2 billion in remittances from migrant workers in 2020 when the remittance volume dropped 17 per cent from $1.5 billion in 2019, according to data from the National Bank of Cambodia.
The figures of the two institutions might not be directly comparable as the labour ministry likely includes estimations on informal transfers but represent a recovery nonetheless, experts say.
Almost half of migrant workers are female
The minister revealed the figures at an annual conference of the National Social Security Fund held on February 11, noting that around 529,000 of the migrant workers are female.
“The remittances have not only improved the livelihoods of their family members, but also contributed to boosting Cambodia’s economic growth,” Samheng said.
Most of the registered labourers – 1.22 million – are working in Thailand, while more than 45,000 are in South Korea, 23,027 in Malaysia, 11,453 in Japan, 821 in Singapore, 202 in Hong Kong and 43 in Saudi Arabia, he added.
Wage differences a major draw to work abroad
According to the International Labour Organisation, Cambodia is a major country of origin for migrant workers due to limited domestic opportunities and low salaries.
In the primary destination Thailand, Cambodian workers are commonly seeking employment in the fishing, agriculture, livestock, construction, manufacturing and service sectors, including domestic work.
Remittances are also seen to have been boosted by the launch of a new mobile cross-border remittance service with Malaysia using Cambodia’s recently introduced central bank-backed digital currency Bakong.
