WASHINGTON—Remittances to several Latin American nations with close migrant ties to the United States declined sharply in the first half of 2020 – especially in April, when much of the U.S. was locked down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from their national central banks.
Across the six countries included in the analysis – Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico – remittances were 17% (or $981.2 million) lower in April 2020 than in April 2019. Most of these countries rely on the U.S. for the vast majority of their remittances. These nations also are the birthplaces of roughly eight-in-ten of the 20 million Latino immigrants who reside in the U.S., Pew Research Center said.
Some Latin American countries were hit harder than others by this spring’s decline in remittances, or the money sent by migrants to their origin nations. El Salvador experienced a 40.0% drop in remittances in April 2020 compared with April 2019, the largest decline among the six nations analyzed. Remittances to Colombia declined by 38.5% during this time, the second-sharpest drop.
Mexico Sees Smallest Drop
Mexico experienced the smallest drop in remittances among the six countries in April, at 2.6%. In March, the country took in $4.0 billion, a record high for Mexico, up 35% from the previous year. The increase in March was partly driven by a favorable exchange rate between the Mexican peso and U.S. dollar; a rise in the number of individual remittance transactions (including electronic transfers and money orders); and an increase in the average amount sent in each remittance transaction, Pew Research Center said.
Overall, remittances during the first six months of 2020 remain below 2019 levels in four of the six nations: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador had the largest drop during this period (-8.0%), followed by Colombia (-5.3%) and Honduras (-4.2%). The Northern Triangle nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras each experienced their largest percentage declines in remittances for the first half of any year since 2009, during the Great Recession, though total remittances currently remain well above 2009 levels. By contrast, Mexico and the Dominican Republic have received more remittances through the first six months of 2020 than in the same period in 2019 – up 10.6% and 0.5%, respectively, Pew Research Center said.