Remittances Continue to Increase

That’s a lot of money. 

U.S. Census estimates for 2006 put the Latino population in Wisconsin at about 261,000, with about 21,000 in Dane County. Local United Way estimates suggest the county numbers may run much higher, perhaps 45,000 or more. It’s not known how many in that group are here illegally.

The average adult Latino immigrant in Wisconsin sends home about $2,700 a year, according to 2006 figures collected by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Families on the other end can be hugely dependent on that money to meet basic needs like food, shelter, clothing and medicine.

According to a recent IBD report, remittances “are essential to lifting millions of families out of poverty, particularly in Mexico, Central America, Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.”

Indeed, the transfers account for a significant part of the gross domestic product of several countries in the region, including 43 percent in Guyana, 35 percent in Haiti, 25 percent in Honduras, and 18 percent in Jamaica and El Salvador.

Mexico is the largest overall recipient of remittances, topping $23 billion in 2006, followed by Brazil and Columbia, at $7 billion and $4 billion respectively, according to the IDB. Remittances to Mexico, however, account for just 3 percent of its GDP because of its much larger economy.