Thousands went to school due to increase in remittances

Pakistan is one of the top 10 remittance recipients worldwide received $21 billion in remittances last year

Digital money transfer service has become a way to impact the school going proportion in Pakistan. WorldRemit, one of the leading digital money transfer companies for the Pakistani diaspora stated that hundreds of thousands of children in Pakistan are in school due to international remittances.

One of the top 10 remittance recipients worldwide, Pakistan has received $21 billion in remittances last year. These findings are calculated using data from UNESCO, the World Bank, and Pakistan’s national household survey.



The research shows that 450,000 children in Pakistan are in school as a result of receiving remittances, while on the other hand, school-age children are 40 per cent less likely to attend school if their household receives remittances. Approximately 220 million children in low and middle-income countries are not in school out of which 19 million live in Pakistan.

WorldRemit is also calculating if traditionally, cash-based money transfers were replaced by lower-cost digital alternatives. Savings from “going digital” could pay for 20 million uniforms, 20 million school books and 16 million sets of school supplies for those who come from low and middle-income countries.



“As millions of children in Pakistan go back to school this term, our research is a timely reminder that the contributions of the diaspora are vital to the education of 450,000 children across the country,” said Hamza Islam, Country Director, WorldRemit Pakistan.