A Romanian working abroad sends, on average, EUR 500 per month back home, representing about a quarter of the money he earns in a month, according to data from TransferGo, an international online money transfer company.

"This value is quite high, given that the income of a Romanian working in the UK or Spain, for example, is about EUR 2,000. Basically, the amount sent to the country represents a quarter of the money he earns in a month, the rest being necessary to cover the minimum living costs, which are higher than in Romania," the company said, according to News.ro.

According to World Bank data, the value of the amounts sent to Romania in 2019 is USD 7.2 billion, representing 3% of Romania's GDP.

Almost 60% of Romanians consider that the diaspora's main contribution to the Romanian economy is represented by the money sent to the family, and 21% by the money spent on their visits to the country, according to the research commissioned by TransferGo and conducted at the end of 2020.

"This is in the context in which almost half of Romanians consider that the diaspora has a small or very small financial contribution to the local economy as a whole, and 73% of Romanians underestimate the real value of the amounts sent to the country by their compatriots abroad," the same research said.

Only 20% of Romanians believe that those living abroad contribute to the development of the local economy through investments made when returning to the country, according to the TransferGo study. Meanwhile, 60% of Romanians believe that those working abroad should return home.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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