GCC becomes world’s largest source of outbound remittances at $161 billion

GCC countries recorded approximately $161 billion in outward workers’ remittances in 2025, making the region the world’s largest source of outbound remittance flows, according to new data from the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat).

The figure represents a 13.6% increase from 2024, with remittances rising by around $19 billion. It also marks the second consecutive year of growth after a decline in 2023.

The increase comes as Gulf economies continue to attract expatriate workers across infrastructure, services, industry, and non-oil sectors, supporting sustained demand for foreign labor across the region.

Workers’ remittances accounted for around 6.6% of the GCC’s combined GDP in 2025, up from 6% in 2024. The ratio stood at 5.7% in 2023 and 5.6% in 2022.

The GCC’s scale becomes more apparent when compared with individual major economies. Workers’ remittances sent from the U.S. stood at approximately $107 billion in 2025, compared with around $43 billion from Switzerland, $27 billion from Germany, and $21 billion from France, according to GCC-Stat.

The growth highlights the GCC’s expanding role in global financial flows and the economic importance of expatriate workers to the region’s labor markets.

For recipient countries, the flows provide an important source of household income and support consumption and economic stability. For the Gulf, meanwhile, the figures reflect the scale of its expatriate workforce and the continued expansion of economic activity beyond the oil sector.

The latest data also points to the broader economic relationship between the GCC and labor-exporting countries, as Gulf economies continue to serve as major destinations for workers while their remittance flows become increasingly significant to economies across Asia, Africa, and other regions.