Remittance trends in Myanmar: January - June 2024

Remittances have emerged as an important source of income for households in post-coup Myanmar. This paper utilizes data from the seventh and fourth rounds of the Myanmar Household Welfare Survey (MHWS) to analyze remittance trends between January and June 2024 with trends from July to December 2022. These two rounds are compared because they both contain detailed questions on remittances. Between January and June 2024, 16 percent of households received remittances from at least one member who was residing overseas or in a different state or region. This comprises nine percent of households receiving remittances from migrants outside of Myanmar and eight percent of households receiving remittances from migrants within Myanmar. Around 12 percent of households received remittances from a single migrant and four percent of households received remittances from two or more members. In any three-month period between January-June 2024, more households in Kayin, Mon, and Tanintharyi received remittances than households in other states/regions. Among households that received remittances from within Myanmar, they received an average of MMK 173,768 per month (about 49 USD). Households that received remittances from outside of Myanmar received around MMK 499,386 per month (about 141 USD), significantly higher than the amount from migrants within Myanmar. Reliance on remittances among recipients has grown since 2021. Remittances made up 33 percent of household income between September 2021 and February 2022, compared to 45 percent of household income between January and June 2024. Finally, budget share of international remittances increased from 15 percent of household income between September 2021 and February 2024 to 26 percent between April and June 2024, underscoring the growing importance of remittances from abroad for household welfare in Myanmar.