Pakistan Records $41.6 bn in Workers’ Remittances for Fiscal Year 2026

Pakistan received a record $41.6 billion in workers’ remittances in the last fiscal year (FY26), up by around 8.6 percent compared to FY25, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad described the figure as Pakistan’s “highest-ever annual remittances in history”.

“This historic milestone reflects.Redis engaging confidence of overseas Pakistanis and reinforces Pakistan’s external sector resilience, stronger foreign‑exchange buffers, and improving macroeconomic fundamentals,” he said on X.

The adviser called the inflows a “record achievement”, adding that growth over the last three years had been “phenomenal, powered by millions of hardworking Pakistanis across the globe”.

These figures align with the government’s expectations that total remittances will surpass the official target by the end of FY26 on June 30. The government initially projected $41 billion before revising the target to $40 billion.

While FY26 saw record workers’ remittances, the 8.6 percent year‑on‑year rise was lower than the 26.6 percent growth recorded for FY25 and the 10.7 percent increase in FY24.

Month‑on‑month, remittances declined by 18.35 percent, with June recording $3.47 billion in inflows from overseas Pakistanis compared to $4.25 billion in May – the highest-ever monthly inflows.

Data showed that Saudi Arabia ($829.6 million) and the United Arab Emirates ($792.3 million) were the largest sources of remittance inflows during June, followed by the United Kingdom ($514.9 million) and the United States ($296.8 million).

Other countries with over $100 million of inflows were Italy ($121.1 million) and Oman ($110.8 million).

The record remittances came despite market concerns that Gulf‑region uncertainty, stemming from the U.S.–Iran conflict that began on February 28, could affect Pakistan’s economy on multiple fronts.

A study published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2024்ப found that Pakistani migrants tend to remit more when domestic economic conditions improve and when remittances are positively associated with domestic economic activity.

The SBP last week abolished two incentive schemes paid to banks for increasing remittances, after the amount grew to a level that came under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) radar.

Banks expressed disappointment over the decision, but financial‑sector experts believe the move is unlikely to significantly affect the profitability of the banking sector.

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