By Meetu Jain
NEW DELHI, 2 July 2025: As Australia’s migrant population booms, so are the remittances sent abroad, with $38.2 bn left the Australian shores for many countries. But of these India tops the list with $ 7.3 bn remittances in 2024, followed by China,while Israelis in Australia sent the most per capita. China got $ 5.35bn remittances from Australia.
The findings were derived from an analysis by international money transfer comparison platform Money Transfer Australia (MoneyTransfer.com.au), which drew on figures from the World Bank, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The full report can be found here: https://moneytransfer.
Australia’s population has raced well past 27 million in the last year, with the proportion of people born overseas making up 31.5 per cent (8.6 million) – only slightly behind the current record of 32 per cent in 1891.[1] [2] In the 2023-24 financial year, Australia received 667,000 migrants and 739,000 in 2022-23[3]. The top five most common countries of birth were England, India, China, New Zealand and the Philippines.[4]
Given this, Money Transfer Australia sought to find out who’s really benefitting from Australia’s massive remittance outflows. Its analysis found that India receives the most funds – at $7.3bn – even though that amount makes up just 3.8 per cent of global remittances to its population. China follows, with $5.35bn sent, but making up a much larger 12.1 per cent of all of China’s inflows.
Money Transfer Australia also found which migrant communities in Australia sent higher amounts abroad. Israelis top the list, having sent a substantial $35,960 per migrant last year. Surprisingly, Israelis also top the list for money sent relative to income – at around 60 per cent of median income (likely due to some very large amounts by a few migrants). France also stands out, with a migrant population roughly 3.5 times the size of Israel’s, yet still sending home an average of $24,505 per person.
This contrasts sharply with average total money sent per person to Thailand (at $237) and Vietnam (at $344). Migrants from Papua New Guinea sent the least last year, at $82 per person.
Where remittances from Australia are making the biggest impact
Some countries are benefiting greatly from Australian money sent to them. Nigerian migrants remit more than 6.8 times Nigeria’s GDP per capita. Pakistan and Kenya also receive remittances from Australia that far exceed their GDP per capita (4.7 and 3.5 times more).
The Pacific nations rely most on Australian remittances. Vanuatu receives 66 per cent of its total remittance inflows from Australia, while Tuvalu receives 49 per cent, the Soloman Islands 45 per cent from Australia, and Fiji 35 per cent.
Russell Gous, Editor-in-Chief at Money Transfer Australia, says: “It’s safe to say that the bigger our overseas-born population, the more Australian money is being sent overseas.
However, it’s not just the big economies, such as India and China, that are benefitting from our remittances. In some African and Pacific nations, these transfers are likely a financial lifeline for many. In Nepal, for instance, Australian residents sent more than 20 times the amount the Australian Government gave in aid. Private remittances are about family love and loyalty, but they also stimulate economies in destination countries.
“With net overseas migration expected to reach more than 1.3 million people between the 2023 and 2025 financial years[5], at Money Transfer Australia, we believe remittance outflows from Australia will be even higher in 2025.”
The full report can be found here: https://moneytransfer.
[1] https://www.abs.gov.au/media-
[2] https://www.abs.gov.au/
[3] https://www.abs.gov.au/
[4] https://www.abs.gov.au/media-
[5] https://ipa.org.au/wp-content/
