Moroccan Diaspora Remittances Hit Record $11.5 Billion in 2023

Remittances from Moroccans living abroad have maintained an upward trend, rising from 95.5 billion dirhams in 2021 to 110.7 billion dirhams in 2022 and 115.15 billion dirhams in 2023, the Office indicates in its recent publication on the monthly indicators of foreign trade for December 2023, noting an increase in transfers from France (+17.9% or +5.4 billion DH), Spain (+10.9% or +1.5 billion DH), Italy (+26.2% or +2.7 billion DH) and Saudi Arabia (+23.5% or +1.6 billion DH).

Remittances from Moroccans living abroad from Canada have recorded a significant increase over the past five years (+28%), followed by Spain (+27.6%) and Italy (+20.3%). But the largest transfers come from France (32.2%), Spain (13.4%), Italy (11.5%) and Saudi Arabia (7.6%).

This increase in remittances from Moroccans living abroad has exceeded the forecasts of Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) which announced last June that "the evolution of remittances remains surrounded by strong uncertainties, but the most recent data suggest a positive dynamic in the medium term, with annual increases around 3.5% to reach an amount of 114.7 billion dirhams in 2023 and 118.7 billion in 2024".

A more significant increase is expected for this year 2024, the Office specifies, stating that the balance of trade in services shows an increase of 16.3%, reaching 134.69 MMDH at the end of December 2023. A trend justified by the 15.8% increase in exports (260.66 MMDH against 225.14 MMDH in 2022), and 15.2% in imports (125.97 MMDH against 109.33 MMDH).