The sum of expatriates’ remittances from Kuwait over the past ten years was approximately 50.75 billion dinars, according to Al-Anba daily. From 2011 until the end of 2021, however, the figures fluctuated, with the lowest remittances (3.54 billion dinars) occurring in 2011 and the highest remittances (5.52 billion dinars) occurring in 2021.
According to government data, the remittances of expatriates have changed noticeably and in a variety of ways during the past 11 years, rising and falling in response to crises of all types and sizes.
Remittances from Kuwait totaled roughly 3.54 billion dinars in 2011, a year with intense political events in many countries, and increased by 21%, or more than 700 million dinars, to 4.28 billion dinars in 2012.
Kuwaiti expats sent home about 4.56 billion dinars in remittances in 2016, however, these remittances fell by about 9% in the year after, or 421 million dinars and the amount sent home by expatriates in 2017 was about 4.14 billion dinars.
The volume of remittances increased throughout the COVID era (2020–2021) compared to the year before the pandemic began, reaching a record of 5.29 billion dinars, up from 4.46 billion dinars in 2019.
Even though 2021 saw some preventive measures, the number of remittances climbed by 23.7%, topping one billion dinars, compared to the number of remittances just before the COVID pandemic began, setting a new record.
In a related context, since the sector’s enterprises serve as the primary outlet for remittances from expatriates, the exchange companies sector is directly related to remittances.