Money transfers from abroad to Georgia in the first half of 2016 declined by 1.5% year-on-year to USD 530.18 million, according to figures released by the National Bank of Georgia last week.

Money transfers from Russia, the largest source of remittances for Georgia, were down by 15.1% y/y in January-June, 2016 to USD 173.4 million.

Remittances from Greece also reduced in the first six months of 2016 to USD 62.8 million, a 24% decline compared to the same period of last year.

Money transfers from Italy increased by 12.7% y/y to USD 59.6 million in the first half of this year, followed by the United States – USD 56.7 million (20% y/y increase); Turkey – USD 39.2 million (9.2% y/y increase); Israel – USD 25.8 million (80.8% y/y increase); Spain – USD 15.13 million (23% y/y increase); Germany – USD 14.9 million (23.8% y/y increase); Ukraine – USD 9.5 million (4.8% y/y decline).

Remittances stood at USD 1.08 billion in 2015, a 25% decline compared to year earlier.