Morocco Expects 7.6% Surge in Overseas Remittances, Reaching 73 Billion Dirhams in 2021

After showing a strong increase in 2020, with a 5% increase to 68 billion dirhams, remittances from MRE will remain on the same trajectory in 2021 and then in 2022, said Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), speaking of strong resilience despite the crisis related to COVID-19.

"Remittances from Moroccans living abroad are expected to continue to grow at a sustained pace, with an expected increase of 7.6%, to reach 73 billion dirhams in 2021 and an increase of 2.8% to reach 75.4 billion in 2022," the BAM board of directors said.

In parallel, Head of Government Saad Dine El Otmani stated that travel receipts would, under the assumption of a gradual increase in the arrival of foreign tourists from the second half of this year, experience moderate growth while remaining well below pre-crisis levels, standing at 38.1 billion dirhams this year and 68.2 billion in 2022.

Furthermore, the economist Rachid Aourraz justified this forecast by stating to Hespress that "the stability of the remittance rate of Moroccans living abroad was expected," explaining that "the conditions of confinement and economic closure have improved the savings of certain Moroccan families living abroad."

The specialist continued in his analysis that these savings and economies of the MRE are transferred to Morocco, whether as aid to their families, for the purchase of real estate or for the realization of small investments.