Moroccan Diaspora Remittances Hit Record $10 Billion in 2021, Boosting Economy

According to Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) forecasts, these transfers should have reached 95 billion DH in 2021, but they reached a peak of 100 billion DH, of which 10%, or 10 billion DH, were invested in real estate (8 billion) and productive sectors (2 billion), reports La Vie Éco. A recent World Bank report reveals that 14% of the funds transferred by MREs come from the United States, 12% from Saudi Arabia and 10% from France. Yet France and Spain have the largest communities of Moroccans living abroad, with 1.5 million and 850,000 Moroccan citizens respectively.

To read: Moroccan Diaspora Remittances Surge to Record 8 Billion Euros, Boosting Economy

In 2020, the record of funds transferred is justified by the solidarity of the MREs towards their families during the health crisis. The situation was expected to return to normal in 2021, according to Moroccan institutions, but the upward trend continued against all expectations. What is driving MREs to transfer such large amounts to Morocco?

First, we mention the savings made by MREs over the past two years when they were unable to return to Morocco due to the health crisis. Then, investment in the kingdom could also explain this increase in MRE fund transfers, or the absence of "unofficial" channels for transferring funds.

To read: Moroccan Diaspora Remittances Set to Surge 7.6% in 2022, Reaching 75.4 Billion Dirhams

In any case, this dynamic should subside this year, according to BAM, which announces that transfers will contract by 23.2% to nearly 73 billion DH and by 2% in 2023, to reach 71.4 billion DH, close to their pre-crisis pace.