Remittances from Switzerland surpass those from France for the first time
The growth observed in Switzerland, which has fewer Portuguese emigrants than France, comes in a year when the value of remittances to Portugal has fallen.
Remittances from Switzerland reached 1,037 million euros in 2020, up 4.9% on 2019. For the first time, they exceeded remittances from France, which totalled 1,036.6 million, down 5.2% on the previous year, according to the Público newspaper citing data from the Bank of Portugal (BoP).
The growth observed in Switzerland, which has fewer Portuguese emigrants than France, comes in a year when the volume of remittances to Portugal has fallen, a reversal of the trend over the last decade. In third place is the United Kingdom, followed by Angola, which has seen major growth and was responsible for remittances of 245.5 million euros.
Inês Vidigal, from the Emigration Observatory, told Público that the general decline in remittances “is probably linked to the pandemic, as the volume of remittances and migration are strongly linked.” “The increase in unemployment and inactivity, as a result of the lockdowns imposed by many countries, affects the ability and financial availability of emigrants to send remittances to Portugal,” she explained.
