Personal transfers sent by EU residents down to €30.3 billion in 2016

In 2016, personal transfers sent by residents of the European Union to non-EU countries amounted to €30.3 billion, a drop from €31.3 billion in 2015, according to Eurostat, the European statistical agency.

The majority of personal transfers, they said, consist of flows of money sent by migrants to their country of origin.

These include all current transfers between resident and non-resident households, regardless of the underlying source of income, the relationship between the households or the purpose of the transfer.

The largest surpluses in personal transfers were recorded in Poland and Portugal, which accounted to €2,822 billion and €2,809 billion respectively.

The largest deficit in personal transfers, on the other hand, was recorded in France (-€9.4 billion) followed by the United Kingdom (-€4.6 billion), Germany and Italy.

The highest shares of inflows, in 2016, from other EU member states were recorded in Slovakia, with a rate of 99% and Hungary, with 94, whereas  extra-EU inflows accounted for around three quarters of the total inflows in France (74%).  

Figures for Malta, as well as Denmark, Norway and Spain were retained as confidential, according to Eurostat.