Caribbean & Central America - May 2024

NICARAGUA | Remittances up. On 26 April, Nicaragua’s central bank (BCN) released new figures which show remittances to the country in the first quarter of 2024 totalled US$1.14bn, up 11.8% on the same period in 2023. The main source countries were the US, which accounted for 81.6% of remittances sent, followed by Costa Rica (7.9%), Spain (6.1%), Panama (1.1%), and Canada (0.7%). As regards destinations for remittances, 26.7% of the total was sent to Managua department followed by the departments of Matagalpa (10.2%) and Chinandega (9.1%). Nicaragua posted a new record of US$4.66bn in remittances in 2023, up 44.5% on the US$3.22bn recorded in 2022, according to figures released by the central bank on 6 February. The surge has been driven by the rapid increase in Nicaraguan emigrants who have left the country due to the crackdown on dissent by the government led by President Daniel Ortega which began in 2018. A report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January 2024 estimated that remittances would contribute around 28% of GDP in 2023, double the contribution that they made in 2021.

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