Remittances from abroad to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the nine months of last year amounted to 2.774 billion BAM and are higher by about 131 million BAM compared to the same period in 2022, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina said.
The Bank stated that they do not have data from which countries BiH receives the most remittances, as there is no official estimate by country yet, but it can be said that they mostly come from the countries of Western Europe, Scandinavia and North America, where the diaspora is most present.
Economic analyst Igor Gavran told Srna news agency that there are three key factors in the growth of remittances from abroad.
“The continued emigration of citizens from BiH continuously increases the number of those who send remittances. The increase in the cost of living in BiH increases the needs of those who stayed in the country and therefore need more money, and inflation nominally increases these amounts even when the real difference in value is not large,” explained Gavran.
He expressed regret that the trend of remittances from abroad being more important and larger than investments continues.
According to data from the Central Bank, total current transfers in 2022 amounted to 4.95 billion BAM and are higher by 598 million BAM compared to 2021.
Of the total amount of current transfers, 3.58 billion BAM refers to remittances from abroad, and 1.37 billion BAM to other current transfers.
Of the total amount of other current transfers, the largest part in the amount of 1.24 billion BAM refers to pensions from abroad.
