OREANDA-NEWS. Money transfers from Russia remain the least expensive. This is stated in the World Bank's report on migration and development, which assesses the situation for 2020.

The Bank's message says: "In the global context, transfers from Russia remain the least expensive: the cost of a money transfer from this country has decreased from 2.1% to 1%." At the same time, in general, within the region of Europe and Central Asia, significant differences remain in the cost of transfers in different directions: the most expensive were transfers from Turkey to Bulgaria, and the least expensive - from Russia to Georgia.

In terms of the global volume of remittances in 2020, it decreased less than previously predicted - by 2.4%, to $ 702 billion.

The World Bank notes that the volume of officially registered remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $ 540 billion in 2020, a decrease of only 1.6% compared to the total volume of remittances in 2019.

The World Bank also indicates that remittances to Europe and Central Asia declined by about 9.7% in 2020 to $ 56 billion due to the pandemic and low oil prices, which have seriously affected the situation of migrant workers across the region.

The Bank wrote: “The depreciation of the Russian ruble has led to a significant decrease in the volume of remittances to this region in dollar terms. It is estimated that in 2021 the volume of remittances will decline by another 3.2%, as countries in the region are expected to recover from the crisis will be slow. "