(13 November 2017) – In 2016, flows of money sent by residents of the European Union to non-EU countries, referred to as personal transfers, amounted to €30.3 billion, compared with €31.3 bn in 2015. The majority of personal transfers consist of flows of money sent by migrants to their country of origin.
The largest surpluses in personal transfers were registered in 2016 in Poland and Portugal (both +€2.8 bn) and Romania (+€2.2 bn), while France (-€9.4 bn) recorded by far the largest deficit, followed by the United Kingdom (-€4.6 bn), Germany (-€4.2 bn) and Italy (-€4.0 bn).
In 2016, the highest shares of inflows from other EU Member States among total inflows were recorded in Slovakia (99%), Luxembourg and Hungary (both 94%) and Poland (88%). On the contrary, extra-EU inflows accounted for about three-quarters of total inflows in France (74%), and for about two-thirds in Italy (66%) and Belgium (63%).
Personal transfers consist of all current transfers in cash or in kind between resident and non-resident households, disregarding the underlying source of income, the relationship between the households or the purpose of the transfer. Thus, the concept of personal transfers is seen to be broader than workers’ remittances (compensation of employees).