Remittances up in third quarter

AMMAN — The total remittances of Jordanians working abroad rose by 1.2 per cent by the end of April, hitting $1.2 billion, up from $1.185 billion registered during the same period of 2017, data released by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) showed on Tuesday.

At a monthly level, CBJ preliminary data show that expatriate Jordanians' remittances in 2018's April alone went up by 2.3 per cent to $319 million, compared to $312 million in April, 2017, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The total remittances of Jordanians working abroad stood at $3.7 billion (some JD2.6 million) in 2017.

Jordanian expatriates’ remittances are one of the country’s major foreign currency inflows, alongside commodity and service exports, grants, loans and foreign aid.

Official figures estimate the number of Jordanian expatriates at around 750,000, the majority of whom lives in the Gulf states.

Over 300,000 Jordanian workers, mostly professionals and skilled labourers, are based in Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE, with nearly 200,000 people.

Experts cite any rise in the volume of remittances as an indicator that the economy is on the right track and second, that Jordanian expat have confidence in national economy.