Uzbekistan Remittances Rise 13% to US$9.3 Billion

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Remittances received by Uzbekistan from abroad rose by 13%, or US$1.1 billion, year-on-year in January-June 2026 to US$9.3 billion, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

The regulator attributed the increase to continued strong demand for labour and relatively high wage levels in traditional labour migration destinations, as well as the overall strengthening of the national currencies of these countries, with moderate exchange-rate fluctuations since the beginning of the year.

According to Rosstat, Russia’s average nominal accrued monthly wage in the first quarter of 2026 was 106,900 Russian roubles, up 15.1% in nominal terms and 8.7% in real terms from the same period a year earlier.

The Russian rouble, based on calculations using the official exchange rates of the Bank of Russia, strengthened by an average of 13.5% against the US dollar in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. In the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly earnings for private-sector nonfarm employees increased by 13 cents, or 0.3%, in June to US$37.6, and rose 3.5% year-on-year.

The Central Bank noted the continued diversification of labour migration destinations. According to the Migration Agency, Uzbekistan has signed 48 agreements with 23 countries on organized labour migration. Of these, 18 intergovernmental and interagency agreements with 14 countries were signed in 2025-2026. Cooperation has also been established with more than 325 major employers and recruitment companies from 36 countries.

Prospective partners include Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, the United States and Japan. The United States, Italy, Sweden, France and Slovenia are new destinations.

Employment opportunities cover trade and services, healthcare and social services, transport and logistics, agriculture, industry, construction, welding and metalworking, woodworking, and the oil and gas and mining sectors. This year, 124,500 Uzbek citizens have been placed in high-paying jobs abroad.

The largest increases in remittances were recorded from the United Kingdom, up 62%; the European Union, up 27%, including Ireland, up 86%, Lithuania, up 18%, and the Netherlands, up 7%; and the United States, up 19%.

In absolute terms, remittances from Kazakhstan increased from US$366 million to US$469 million, from the United States from US$313 million to US$372 million, from South Korea from US$282 million to US$314 million, from Turkey from US$266 million to US$303 million, from the United Kingdom from US$89 million to US$144 million, and from the European Union from US$251 million to US$319 million.

Of the total funds received by individuals, US$4.3 billion, or 46.7%, was transferred through traditional international money transfer systems, an increase of 0.3%. Another US$4.8 billion, or 51.7%, was transferred directly to bank cards through P2P systems, up 32%. Bank transfers through SWIFT accounted for US$142 million, or 1.6%, down 43%.

The Central Bank also cited global trends. Over the past decade, international remittances to low- and middle-income countries have exceeded US$5.5 trillion. Since 2015, remittances, excluding China, have remained one of the largest sources of external financing for developing countries, exceeding foreign direct investment since 2022. India remained the largest recipient of remittances in 2025 at US$151 billion, followed by Mexico, the Philippines, Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

At the same time, according to the Central Bank, remittances sent abroad by individuals from Uzbekistan rose by 8%, or US$100 million, in January-June 2026 to US$1.3 billion.