• Up 5.9% to $ 7.1 b in 2020 and up 18% to $ 2.8 b in Jan-May 2021

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday, during the address to the nation, claimed that the workers’ remittances decreased as a result of migrant workers losing jobs owing to the COVID pandemic. 

He said: “Due to the closure of industries in foreign countries, our migrant workers began to return. Many of them lost their jobs. Over 200,000 migrant workers who returned to Sri Lanka because of the pandemic have not yet been allowed to return to those countries. The remittances received by Sri Lanka decreased as a result of this.”

However, the graph depicting Central Bank data confirms remittances did increase by 5.9% in 2020 to $ 7.1 billion after contracting in 2019. The inflow has been robust so far this year. In the first five months of 2021, the value was $ 2.8 billion, up 18% from the corresponding period of 2020. 

The 2020 Central Bank Annual Report said remittances declined during the period from March-May 2020 with the return of migrant workers from countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, job terminations of some workers abroad as well as the cessation of new departures for employment. However, workers’ remittances increased continuously thereafter to record a 5.8% growth in 2020 compared to a decline of 4.3% in 2019.

“This growth may be attributed to the increased stay period of migrant workers as a result of the closure of most international borders, increased use of formal channels, and a possible increase in the amount remitted by migrant workers to families in Sri Lanka to manage the pandemic driven hardships,” the Central Bank said.

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