Jamaica ranks among the ten top countries receiving remittances in 2015 in the Caribbean and Latin American (LAC) region.
Within LAC the top 10 remittance recipients in 2015 were: Mexico (US$25.7 billion), Guatemala (US$6.4 billion), the Dominican Republic (US$5.0 billion), Colombia (US$4.5 billion), EI Salvador (US$4.4 billion), Honduras (US$3.8 billion), Brazil (US$2.8 billion), Peru (US$2.7 billion), Ecuador (US$2.4 billion) and Jamaica (US$2.3 billion)
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) this month released final figures for remittances which indicate that January to December 2015, for the calendar year, total remittance inflows amounted to US$2. 23 billion , representing an increase of US$69.0 million or 3.2 per cent over $2.16 billion the year before.
The BOJ said inflows were above the average of US$1. 84 billion for the previous five corresponding periods and above the corresponding pre-crisis outturn for 2008.
Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 said that the number of migrants has risen rapidly in the past few years for reasons including job opportunities, labour shortages resulting from falling birth rates, internal conflict and war, natural disasters, climate change, and improved access to information through phone and the Internet.

The central bank said net remittances in Jamaica for the 2015 calendar year totalled US$1. 48 billion which represented a growth of US$47.8 million or 3.3 per cent relative to the corresponding period of 2014.
Remittance companies increased collections by US$79.2 million. The United States was the main source of inflows amounting to US$138.3 million, followed by Canada with US$15.million.
Other sources were the United Kingdom with US$9.9 million and China with US$10.3 million and US$53 million came from ‘other’ sources.
Globally, the Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 said, “Migrants are now sending earnings back to their families in developing countries at levels above US$441 billion, a figure three times the volume of official aid flows. These inflows of cash constitute more than 10 per cent of GDP in some 25 developing countries and lead to increased investments in health, education, and small businesses in various communities.”