The World Bank estimated the inflows of expatriates' remittances to Lebanon at $7.2bn in 2018, constituting an increase of 1.8% from $7.1bn in 2017, following a decline of 7% in 2017. In comparison, remittance inflows to developing countries grew by 9.6%, those to upper middle-income countries (UMICs) increased by 7.7% and inflows to Arab countries rose by 9.1% in 2018.

Lebanon was the 24th largest recipient of remittances in the world and the 18th largest among 123 developing economies in 2018. Lebanon received more than the Dominican Republic ($6.8bn), Colombia ($6.4bn) and El Salvador ($5.46bn), and less remittances than Sri Lanka and Thailand ($7.46bn each) and Morocco ($7.37bn) among developing economies. Also, Lebanon was the sixth largest recipient of remittances among 50 UMICs, after China ($67.4bn), Mexico ($35.7bn), Guatemala ($9.6bn), Russia ($8.6bn) and Thailand ($7.5bn), and the third largest recipient among 16 Arab countries, behind Egypt ($28.9bn) and Morocco ($7.4bn).

Further, expatriates' remittances to Lebanon were equivalent to 12.7% of GDP in 2018, which constituted the 17th highest such ratio in the world and among developing countries, as well as the second highest ratio, behind only Palestine (17.7%), among Arab countries. Expatriates' remittances to Lebanon were equivalent to 14.8% of GDP in 2016 and 13.3% of GDP in 2017. The World Bank estimated remittance inflows to Arab countries, excluding Syria, at $60.3bn in 2018, up from $55.1bn in 2017, and equivalent to about 2.8% of the region's GDP last year.