Source: Byblos Bank
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Thursday 4 July 2024 15:39:15
Expatriates' Remittances to Lebanon up 4% to $6.7 Billion in 2023
The World Bank estimated the inflows of expatriates' remittances to Lebanon at $6.7bn in 2023, constituting an increase of 4.1% from $6.44bn in 2022, following a rise of 1.3% in 2022 from the preceding year. In comparison, it estimated that remittance inflows to developing countries grew by 0.7% and inflows to Arab countries declined by 14.2% in 2023.
Lebanon was the 31st largest recipient of remittances in the world and the 21st largest among developing economies in 2023. Lebanon received more remittances than Sri Lanka ($6bn), Russia ($5.8bn) and Serbia ($5.77bn), and less remittances than Thailand ($9.6bn), Honduras ($9bn), and El Salvador ($8.2bn) among developing economies in 2023. Also, Lebanon was the third largest recipient of remittances among 16 Arab countries behind Egypt ($19.5bn) and Morocco ($11.8bn) in 2023.
Remittance inflows to Lebanon accounted for 0.78% of the global flow of remittances in 2023 relative to 0.76% in 2022. They also represented 1% of aggregate remittances to developing economies in each of 2023 and 2022, while they accounted for 11.5% of remittance inflows to Arab countries last year compared to 9.5% in 2022.
Further, according to the World Bank, expatriates' remittances to Lebanon were equivalent to 30.7% of GDP in 2023, which constituted the third highest such ratio in the world behind Tonga (40.6% of GDP) and Tajikistan (39% of GDP). Expatriates' remittances to Lebanon were equivalent to 13.9% of GDP in 2019, 26.7% of GDP in 2020, 27.5% of GDP in 2021, and 30.66% of GDP in 2022.
In parallel, the World Bank estimated the outflow of remittances from Lebanon at $1.78bn in 2023, representing an increase of 2.2% from $1.74bn in 2022, following a decrease of 10% in 2022 from the previous year. As such, net remittance inflows to Lebanon totaled $4.92bn in 2023, constituting an increase of 4.7% from $4.7bn in 2022. In comparison, the bank estimated that remittance outflows from developing countries contracted by 4.4% and outflows from Arab countries declined by 14.7% in 2023.
Lebanon was the 36th largest source of remittances in the world and the ninth largest among developing economies in 2023. Remittances outflows from Lebanon were higher than outflows from the Dominican Republic ($1.06bn), Mexico ($1.05bn) and Türkiye ($951m), and lower than from Thailand ($7bn), Kazakhstan ($2.4bn), and Brazil ($2.3bn) among developing economies in 2023. Also, Lebanon was the sixth largest source of remittances in the Arab world behind the UAE ($38.5bn), Saudi Arabia ($38.4bn), Kuwait ($12.7bn), Qatar ($11.8bn), and Bahrain ($2.7bn) in 2023.
Remittance outflows from Lebanon accounted for 0.34% of the global outflow of remittances in 2023 relative to 0.33% in 2022. They also represented 0.58% of aggregate remittances from developing economies in 2023 and 0.63% in 2022, while they accounted for 1.7% of remittance outflows from Arab countries last year compared to 1.4% in 2022.
Further, according to the World Bank, expatriates' remittances from Lebanon were equivalent to 8.2% of GDP in 2023, which constituted the third highest such ratio in the world behind Luxembourg (21% of GDP) and Timor-Leste (17.5% of GDP).
As such, net remittance inflows to Lebanon were equivalent to 22.6% of GDP in 2023, compared to 22.4% of GDP in 2022, 19.1% of GDP in 2021, 15.5% of GDP in 2020 and 5.7% of GDP in 2019.
