Kathmandu. Due to the weak data of Nepal’s export trade, Nepal is the most dependent country in the income from remittance inflows to the GROSS domestic product (GDP) across South Asia.
Remittances account for 33 percent of Nepal’s GROSS domestic product.
Compared to GDP, Pakistan is 9.4 per cent, Bangladesh 6 per cent and India 3.5 per cent. Remittance inflows account for less than 1% of Bhutan’s GDP.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) showed this trend in its 2025 Sustainable Global Production Measurement Report, a key index for Asia and the Pacific, published last week.
Last year, Nepal grew by 36 per cent to USD 14 billion, while Pakistan recorded a 31 per cent increase to around USD 35 billion. Last year, Bangladeshis abroad sent home a record $27 billion, an increase of 23 per cent over the same period last year.
Indian migrant workers in foreign employment sent a total of $ 137.67 billion in remittances in 2024. This amount is 76 %% of the remittances received by six countries other than Pakistan.
Although Bangladesh achieved strong growth in remittance income last year, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Pakistan and Nepal recorded very high growth in the same period. After the 2020 pandemic, remittance inflows to Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan were gradually increasing and increased in 2024.
In contrast, Sri Lanka has experienced fluctuating flows over the past five years. In 2022, remittances dropped by almost half amid political turmoil but grew by 58 percent in 2023 and increased by an additional 9 percent last year.
Among the South Asian countries, India has achieved strong and uninterrupted growth after the Covid pandemic. In 2020, remittances to India and Nepal decreased, while pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka increased.
