Shining a Light on the Remarkable Contributions Migrants make in their Countries of Residence and Origin
In 2000 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants Day. Increased globalization, communication, and transportation has boosted the number of people moving countries in search of opportunities. Many come to the United States (U.S.) which has the largest immigrant population globally, making up 14.1% of the U.S. population.
Immigrants and their U.S. born children now number approximately 89.4 million people, or 28% of the overall U.S. population according to the 2018 Current Population Survey (CPS). The Pew Research Center projects that the immigrant-origin share will rise to about 36% by 2065.
According to analysts and think tanks, migrants have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the U.S. and played critical roles in breakthroughs in science and innovation; they have created businesses—including many Fortune 500 companies—that generate over $775 billion in sales, and provide numerous jobs to others; and they pay over $300 billion in yearly state, local, and federal taxes. Migrant owned businesses employ one out of every ten U.S. workers and have started more than 25% of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors of the economy.
Whilst migrants contribute enormously to the US economy, they also contribute to their friends, family and economies of their home countries by sending money back. WorldRemit serves an increasing share of the estimated US$56.3 billion U.S. remittance market through the provision of digital remittance services. Our service offers senders savings of up to 48%* off the cost to send $200 compared to most banks, and up to 22%* compared to most money transfer operators based on World Bank data.
As a small child, Uchechukwu Okoye moved to America with her family. While her family is proud of their Nigerian Igbo roots, they are equally proud to be living in America, embracing the American dream of working hard, achieving what you want, and in turn helping others. Several of Uchechukwu’s siblings have embraced entrepreneurial opportunities in America and the family is proud to send money back to Nigeria to help with school fees and tuition, as well as frequent contributions to local orphanages and charities. Uchechukwu has consistently sent money to her childhood Nanny who receives the funds as both direct deposits and airtime, and the ability to send money digitally is one of the main reasons she chooses WorldRemit. These remittances have helped her former Nanny start her own business which has become so successful, she no longer relies on remittances to sustain the everyday life of her own family.
Ronil Idias a WorldRemit U.S. customer was born and raised in the Philippines, moving to the US in 2016. He works in the U.S. as a banker and is grateful his job allows him to send remittances back home. Ronil pays the college and school fees for two siblings and three sisters-in-law. He is particularly proud to be sending his 40-year-old sister-in-law to school, as it was her dream to finish college after she started her family. The remittances Ronil sends home also pay for food and general expenses because he wants his family to focus on completing their studies. This will help them secure good jobs to help raise their families enabling them to flourish and have a good standard of living. He likes the speed at which WorldRemit transfers money, in addition to the added convenience that comes with using either an App or website for all transactions and security of receiving the funds as mobile money.
Dan Canning, Managing Director for The America’s at WorldRemit, comments: “Migrants have made remarkable contributions to America, often their struggles against adversity and their selflessness to help others is overlooked. December 18 is about applauding their achievements, we are honored to serve these communities in America, and help them support their families and friends back home”.
For more information on how to send money with WorldRemit, click here.
. *Comparison based on the average cost to send using data sourced from the World Bank for Q3 2019. The World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, available at https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org