National Bank: EU states main sources of remittances in January

Remittances to Georgia increased from the United States and European Union member countries in January and went down by 75 percent from Russia, the National Bank of Georgia said in its latest update of the figures.

The figure from Russia decreased year-on-year to $68 million, the Bank said. It added the reduction of money transfers from Russia led to the annual decrease January along with the "base effect".

Overall, the country received $263.4 million from abroad in January, which was 40.8 percent less compared to the same month of 2023.

The National Bank said the main sources of remittances were EU countries (39.2%), Russia (25.7%) and the United States (14.4%). 

Among countries of the EU, Italy, Greece and Germany held a notably high share, it also noted. 

The figures also showed an increase in remittances from the US, registering a 32.9 percent growth year-on-year. 

The body noted money transfers from Kazakhstan had increased “moderately” year-on-year, marking a 7.4 percent rise in January, but went down from Kyrgyzstan by 39.8 percent and Azerbaijan by 2.9 percent.

Transfers from Ukraine increased compared to the “minimum level” of the previous year, while from Israel it increased by 4.7 percent, the Bank said.

In the same month, remittances leaving Georgia totalled $25.9 million, down by 1.5 percent year-on-year.