Figure 37. Countries from which
Rohingya receive remittances
THE ROLE OF REMITTANCES FROM
ABROAD
Twenty-one percent of households have received a
remittance in the past 12 months. Though often sent
in small amounts, remittances constitute a vital safety
net. For more than half of those who receive them,
remittances constitute half or more of their annual
household income (figure 36). Eighty-five percent of
remittances are sent from either Malaysia or Saudi
Arabia (figure 37).
1%
Canada
23%
Saudi Arabia
4%
Bangladesh
1%
1%
1%
USA
Pakistan
Thailand
3%
Myanmar
62%
Malaysia
2%
Australia
Figure 36. Remittance as
share of annual income
Among the 21% of households who receive remittances
Figure 38. Remittance sender’s
relationship to the recipient
MOST OF INCOME
17%
Son or son-in-law
HALF OF INCOME
Brother or
brother-in-law
16%
MORE THAN HALF OF INCOME
Husband
21%
Father or
father-in-law
36%
LESS THAN HALF OF INCOME
9%
NEGLIGIBLE SHARE
n = 353 (total households receiving remittances)
Figure 40. Respondents receiv ing
diff erent amount of remittances
17%
13%
< BDT
2,000
BDT
4,001–
6,000
BDT
6,001–
8,000
BDT
8,001–
10,000
4%
An extended
relative
3%
Daughter or
daughter-in-law
3%
Uncle
2%
Sister or
sister-in-law
2%
Seventy-five percent of recipient families received one
to six remittances in the past year. Many remittances
are transferred around the time of religious festivals,
traditionally a time for gift-giving. Most remittance
recipients interviewed expressed no expectation that
their loved ones overseas should send a remittance, and
most are sent depending on the ability or preference
of the sender (figure 39). In contrast, many people who
expressed an interest in traveling to a third country
6%
BDT
2,000–
4,000
6%
The majority of senders, 82 percent, are the brother
or son of the recipient (figure 38). While having a
family member abroad is a prerequisite for receiving
remittances, only 39 percent of households with a relative
in Myanmar or elsewhere abroad receive money from
them.
22%
6%
33%
332 respondents provided information
about 430 relatives sending remittances
32%
16%
49%
BDT
10,001–
12,000
> BDT
12,000
332 respondents provided information
about 430 relatives sending remittances
35