Georgian immigrants in Europe sending more money home than those in Russia

In the first half of 2018, USD 255 million worth of money transfers were made from European Union countries to Georgia.

This is USD 41 million more than the USD 214 million sent from Russia to Georgia.

This indicator has already been called ‘historic’ in Georgia, given that this is the first time the volume of money transfers from Europe have surpassed money coming into the country from Russia.

The Georgian version of Forbes writes that, compared to the same period last year, the volume of money transfers over the last four months has been declining by about USD 500 000 per month, while money transfers from the European Union have risen by some USD 11 million per month.

Forbes writes that the decline in money transfers from Russia has been ongoing since 2015, as the Russian rouble has taken a significant tumble and the Russian economy has come up against a number of problems because of US and other sanctions.

• The largest sum of money sent from Italy (in USD): 89 million; Greece: 81 million; Germany: 20 million; Spain: 19 million.

• Most Georgian immigrants live in either Russia, Italy or Greece, and send money home to support their families that remain in Georgia.