India continued to retain its position as the world’s largest recipient of remittances in 2024, with inflows crossing the $137 billion mark, according to the World Migration Report 2026 released by the International Organization for Migration.
The report stated that India remained the only country globally to receive more than $100 billion in remittances during 2024. Total inflows stood at $137.67 billion, significantly ahead of other major recipient nations including Mexico, the Philippines and France.
India has maintained its position as the world’s leading remittance recipient since 2010. The report highlighted the steady rise in inflows over the years, increasing from $53.48 billion in 2010 to $68.91 billion in 2015, followed by $83.15 billion in 2020 before reaching $137.67 billion in 2024.
South Asia was estimated to record the fastest remittance growth globally in 2024 at 11.8%, driven by strong inflows into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The report said high-income countries remained the largest remittance sources globally in 2024. The United States led with outflows exceeding $100 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with over $46 billion, Switzerland with around $40 billion and Germany with nearly $24 billion.
Asian countries continued to account for the largest share of internationally mobile students. China remained the top source country with over 1 million students abroad in 2022, while India ranked second with more than 620,000.
Other major origin countries included Uzbekistan with 150,000 students abroad, Vietnam with 134,000 and Germany with 126,000. The United States, France, Nigeria, Syria and Nepal each had between 95,000 and 115,000 students abroad. More than half of the globally mobile students were based in Europe and North America.
The report stated that the Indian diaspora has played an important role in the growth of India’s technology sector. It also emphasised the importance of converting “brain drain” into “brain gain” through policies encouraging knowledge circulation between origin and destination countries.
India’s initiatives include annual diaspora conventions and innovation hubs designed to encourage Indian scientists and entrepreneurs to return or mentor startups remotely.
The report also referenced China’s Thousand Talents Plan, which has attracted overseas Chinese academics back into domestic research and development activities.
Read More: India Shows Steady Resilience to Global Shocks, According to Moody’s!
The latest migration report underlined India’s growing global economic and demographic influence, supported by strong remittance inflows, a large international student population and an increasingly influential diaspora network across sectors and regions.
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Published on: May 7, 2026, 10:11 AM IST
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