Official remittance at over 1 billion USD

The official remittances exceeded 1 billion USD in 2007 for the first time, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the National Bank of Moldova, the Moldovans working abroad over January-November 2007 transferred home about 1.09 billion USD. In November, remittances totalled 117.55 million USD or almost two times more than in January. Over 75% of the total remittances (818.86 million USD) were transferred through money transfer systems. In 2006, the individuals sent home through commercial banks about 855 million USD, a 15% increase compared with the year before. According to a World Bank report, remittances in Moldova make up about one third of the GDP - the highest value in Europe. Most of the remittances come from Russia and Italy. A study of the International Organisation for Migration says that more than 40% of the households in Moldova receive remittances from abroad. The remittances are spent mainly on current consumption, to purchase domestic appliances, furniture and to pay debts. Only a small part of this money, less than 7%, is invested in business and about 5% is deposited in bank accounts.