The Unexpected Winners and Losers in Australia’s Remittance and Aid Flows

• US$25 billion was sent abroad from Australia in 2024.
• Over US$8 billion in remittances flowed from Australia to India (US$4.8bn) and China (US$3.5bn) alone.
• Israeli migrants sent the highest volume per capita home (US$23,543), while migrants from Papua New Guinea sent the least (US$54).
• Vanuatu receives 66% of its total remittance inflows from Australia.

India tops the global remittance charts and is also Australia’s largest recipient, receiving nearly US$5 billion of Australia’s US$25 billion total outbound remittances in 2024. Yet, Australia’s contribution makes up just 3.8% of India’s overall inflows. 

In contrast, China receives US$3.5 billion from Australia  – a smaller dollar amount, but a much larger share of its total remittance inflows at 12.1%.

Australia is the UK’s most popular emigration destination, receiving nearly US$1 billion in remittances – about 20% of the UK’s total inflows. However, UK migrants send significantly less per person compared to those from China or India, suggesting more of their earnings remain within Australia’s economy.

Australia’s remittance stats clearly highlight regional preferences, particularly towards Pacific neighbours. Vanuatu stands out, receiving a considerable 66% of its total remittance inflows from Australia, with Tuvalu (49%), the Solomon Islands (45%), and Fiji (35%) also dependent.

Historical migration in the 1950s and 60s created the largest Maltese diaspora globally in Australia, explaining why Malta still receives over 50% of its international remittance inflows from Australian sources.

Conversely, Latin American and Central Asian countries are barely visible in Australia’s remittance database, as their financial ties predominantly focus on the US.

Private Remittances vs. Government Ais From Australia (USD Millions)

Papua New Guinea relies the most on Australian aid (AU$637.4m), dwarfing the US$1.8 million in personal remittances it receives. Afghanistan also stands out as a country receiving significant Australian aid (AU$50m) but little in migrant remittances (US$6.1m).

On the flip side, Nepal receives a staggering 33 times more through private remittances (US$574.5m) than Australian aid (AU$27.2m). 

Wire transfer data also reveals large remittance flows from Australia’s Vietnamese (US$1.52bn) and Filipino (US$1.18bn) communities, each surpassing already substantial aid allocations of AU$64 million and AU$70 million, respectively.

Certain migrant communities in Australia send disproportionately high amounts abroad. Israelis send a substantial US$23,543 per migrant annually, reflecting likely investments or wealth transfers, rather than traditional family remittances.

France also stands out, with a migrant population roughly 3.5 times the size of Israel’s, yet still sending home an average of US$16,043 per capita.

Conversely, refugee-heavy communities from Syria and Afghanistan send minimal amounts, suggesting limited financial capacity to do so.

The contrast is stark: Israeli migrants send, on average, more than 300 times as much per person as Afghan migrants.

Israelis again top the list for money sent home relative to income. At around 60% of median income, this figure is likely skewed by a smaller number of Israeli migrants sending very large sums.

Migrants from France (38%), Lebanon (37%), Austria (36%), and Egypt (33%) also remit substantial portions of their income. French migrants, however, do so from notably higher average earnings.

Ireland stands out for sending comparatively small amounts home, relative to high earnings in Australia. Similar to the UK, which we highlighted earlier, this suggests that a larger share of their earnings is circulated within Australia, benefiting the local economy.

Papua New Guineans remit less than 0.01% of their income on average – highlighting vastly different financial priorities.

Nigerian migrants in Australia remit more than 6.8 times Nigeria’s GDP per capita, indicating a high level of economic reliance. This likely reflects family obligations and financial necessity, though it may also include some transfers linked to fraudulent activity.

Other lower-income countries, such as Pakistan (4.7x) and Kenya (3.5x), also receive remittances from Australia that far exceed their GDP per capita, underscoring similar patterns of dependency.

By contrast, migrants from higher-income countries like New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada remit far less relative to GDP per capita – reflecting lower financial pressure to send money home.

Sources

World Bank’s Bilateral Remittance Matrix (via Statista)
World Bank Global Remittance Database
World Bank Migration and Development Brief 40
KNOMAD
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australian Bureau of Statistics
ABS Census

Remittance data for Australia was primarily sourced from the World Bank’s Bilateral Remittance Matrix, compiled by KNOMAD and the Pew Research Center, which tracks remittance flows to and from Australia. Where bilateral figures involving Australia were missing, we used supplementary data from KNOMAD’s country-specific datasets (including flows from Australia) or official reports from national banks in recipient countries. 

Total global remittance figures by country were taken from the World Bank’s global remittance database. When 2024 data was unavailable, we projected the most recent figures forward using regional and income-based growth rates from the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief 40.

Aid data came from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), specifically the 2024–25 budget document “Table 2: Australian ODA by country and region of benefit.” Figures in AUD were converted to USD using the 2024 average exchange rate.

GDP per capita data was sourced from the World Bank and expressed in current USD, providing a consistent basis for comparing economic conditions across countries.

Foreign-born population figures were drawn from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Australia’s Population by Country of Birth, as of June 2023.

Migrant income data came from the ABS Census QuickStats, using the “Median weekly personal income” by country of birth. Weekly figures were annualised, projected to 2024 using Treasury wage growth forecasts, and converted to USD using the 2024 average exchange rate.