CARIBBEAN REGION--Remittances continue to play a major role in Caribbean households and economies, with new international data showing strong growth in money sent home by migrants as global transfers to developing countries reached US$728.6 billion in 2025.
The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, reported this week that remittances to low- and middle-income countries increased by 94% between 2016 and 2025. Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the fastest growth of any region over that period, with remittances rising 132% to US$168.6 billion in 2025.
The US$728.6 billion figure represents the worldwide total and should not be confused with the amount received by the Caribbean. IFAD groups Latin America and the Caribbean together in its regional calculation.
Separate figures from the Inter-American Development Bank provide a closer look at the Caribbean itself. The IDB estimated that Caribbean countries received approximately US$20.9 billion in remittances during 2025, an increase of 9.2% over the previous year. Caribbean countries accounted for about 12% of all remittances received across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The IDB found that the United States remained the largest source of money sent to Caribbean countries, accounting for 50.4% of remittance flows to the subregion. Canada accounted for another 10.2%, highlighting the importance of Caribbean diaspora communities in North America to families and economies back home.
The dependence on overseas workers also exposes Caribbean households to changes outside the region. IFAD warned that deportations, restrictions on migrant employment and weaker labor markets in destination countries could reduce both the number of people able to send money and the amounts they transfer. Despite tighter migration policies in parts of North America and Europe, the organization said available figures have not yet shown an overall decline in remittances.
The importance of these flows goes well beyond their overall dollar value. According to IFAD, about three-quarters of remittances worldwide are used for immediate household needs such as food, housing and utilities. The remaining quarter, representing more than US$180 billion each year, goes toward areas including health care, education, housing, savings and small businesses.
That role can be particularly significant in Caribbean societies where families are spread across several countries and migration has created longstanding financial links between communities at home and relatives overseas.
Remittances can also provide families with additional support following hurricanes and other disasters. IFAD said money sent by relatives abroad increasingly helps households replace lost income, meet emergency expenses and contribute toward rebuilding after climate-related shocks. The agency cautioned, however, that these private transfers should not be treated as a replacement for government spending, social protection, humanitarian assistance or climate financing.
The report also points to the growing importance of digital money transfers. More than half of remittances now begin digitally, but only 35% of services assessed in 2025 were completely digital from the person sending the money to the person receiving it.
Cost remains another issue. IFAD found that digital transfers averaged about 4.6% of the amount being sent, compared with approximately 7.3% for non-digital services. Reducing those costs could have a direct effect on Caribbean families because every percentage point spent on transaction fees represents money that does not reach the intended household.
Globally, an estimated 220 million migrants and members of diaspora communities support about 1.1 billion relatives through remittances. Typical transfers range between US$300 and US$400 and are made nine or ten times a year, demonstrating how the enormous global figure is built largely from relatively small transfers between individual family members.
For the Caribbean, the figures reinforce the economic importance of its diaspora while also showing the vulnerability that comes with depending on employment conditions, immigration policies and economic developments in countries thousands of miles away. The challenge for the region is not simply attracting more remittance flows, but ensuring that families can receive that money safely, affordably and through financial systems that allow them to save and invest as well as meet immediate needs.
