Statistics from the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) show an increase of 44% in the sending of remittances to the country in the second quarter of this year, when the massive migration of Nicaraguans to countries such as the United States and Costa Rica continues to report record figures. In the months of April to June 2022, a total of 763.6 million dollars was received, according to the highest bank issuer, higher than the 529.8 million dollars received in the same period in 2021.
In the first six months of the year, remittances accumulated as of June totaled 1,396.2 million dollars, 35.5% more than the same period in 2021, when an income of 1,30.2 million dollars was recorded, according to the official report. from BCN.
The BCN document highlights that the main countries of origin of remittances received in the quarter continued to be the United States with 76.2%, followed by Spain with 8.6%, in third place, Costa Rica with 8.3%; Panama 2.1%, and Canada 1.1%, among others.
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BCN figures reveal that the largest flow of remittances comes from the United States, the main destination for Nicaraguans fleeing the situation in the country in search of protecting their physical integrity or economic improvements in the face of the sociopolitical and human rights crisis that Nicaragua is going through. since 2018.
“The dynamism of remittances was supported by the largest flows from the United States, which were 582.1 million dollars, registering a growth of 72.1 percent compared to the same period in 2021 (US$338.2 million),” says the BCN.
The increase in remittances from the United States coincides with the increase in the flow of Nicaraguans to that country. From January to June 2022, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) registered 84,055 detentions of Nicaraguans. 358% more than in the same period last year, a record figure. Nicaragua ranked third among the countries that send the most migrants to the United States, only surpassed by Guatemala and Honduras.
Nicaragua received 2,146.9 million dollars in remittances in 2021, 16% more than in 2020, according to official figures. Remittances represent 17% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Close to 20% of the total population of Nicaraguan origin, estimated at 6.6 million inhabitants, lives abroad, mainly in the United States and Costa Rica, and it is estimated that half of them do so undocumented.
