Remittance Flows in Europe: Where Does the Money Go?

Money travels between countries for a variety of reasons. For example, an expat might move money abroad to buy a home or workers might send money they've earned back to family at home. But which countries in Europe send and receive the most? We've analysed data from the World Bank to find out.

Top Remittance Flows Into, Out of and Within Europe

The largest single country-to-country European remittance flow was money being sent from the UK to Nigeria. In 2017, USD4.1 billion was remitted along this route alone. The UK also remitted more than USD3.9 billion to India. Routes out of Russia, France and Spain were also significant, as you can see in the table below.

Sending CountryReceiving CountryUSD (millions)
United KingdomNigeria$4,119
Russian FederationUkraine$4,043
United KingdomIndia$3,941
FranceBelgium$2,949
Russian FederationUzbekistan$2,839
SpainFrance$2,835
United StatesGermany$2,801
FranceSpain$2,738
UkraineRussian Federation$2,490
United StatesFrance$2,373
BelgiumFrance$2,319
FranceMorocco$2,292

Which European Countries Send the Most Money Abroad?

More money left the UK in 2017 than any other country in Europe: USD26.8 billion. Germany was not far behind, with USD24.7 of remittance leaving the country, followed by France, Spain and Italy.

European Countries Sending the Most RemittanceUSD (millions)
United Kingdom$26,801
Germany$24,671
France$21,758
Spain$17,874
Italy$17,369
Russian Federation$16,503
Switzerland$9,197
Belgium$6,022
Netherlands$5,615
Turkey$4,737
Ukraine$4,328

Which European Countries Receive the Most Money?

The European country receiving the most in remittance was France, with USD 25.4 billion of funds arriving in 2017. Germany was second but received 34% less than France, or USD16.8 billion. The European country receiving the third largest amount in remittance was Spain.

European Countries Receiving the Most Remittance
France$25,372
Germany$16,833
Spain$10,692
Belgium$10,273
Italy$9,287
Russian Federation$8,026
Ukraine$7,895
Poland$6,805
Romania$4,944
Portugal$4,811

To learn about popular ways in which money is transferred internationally, please see our study on Top Money Transfer Apps in Europe: Which Are Most Popular with Consumers?

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