Bulgarian emigrants sent USD 1.9 B back to Bulgaria in 2007. Photo by ikobo-money-transfer.com
According to information from the World Bank, Bulgarian Emigrants sent back close to USD 1.9 B in 2007, stated Mila Mancheva from the Centre for Migration Studies and Practices, cited by BGNES news agency Monday.
Mancheva announced that the transfer of money by Bulgarian emigrants back to their homeland amounts to the second most important factor for Bulgaria's economy. The first being the money invested in Bulgaria by foreign investors. This revelation may lead to concerns about the effect of the Global Financial Crisis on Bulgaria's emigrants.
The World Bank figures show that a total of USD 318 B dollars was transferred back to emigrant's countries of origin in 2007 alone. From that figure USD 38,6 was sent to countries in Europe and Central Asia. The two countries at the top of the listing in Europe were Romania with USD 6,8 B and Poland with USD 5 B.