Argentina - IOM’s latest research on South-South remittances from Argentina to Bolivia published this week, confirms that Bolivian migrants sent home a total of USD 1.02 billion in remittances in 2012. From Argentina alone, the amounts sent home reached USD 301 million.

The IOM publication reports that Argentina is the second most important source of remittances for Bolivia, after Spain. In 2008, remittances sent from Argentina accounted for 13 per cent of all Bolivian inbound remittances; in 2009 they increased to 20.6 per cent; in 2010 and 2011, they declined to 18.7 per cent and 17.4 per cent respectively.

The main countries of destination of Bolivian migrants are Argentina, Spain and the United States, where 94.4 per cent of Bolivians abroad currently reside. According to Argentina’s National Population, Household and Housing Census of 2010, a total of 345,272 Bolivians are living in Argentina; the 2009 Spanish Municipal Register of Inhabitants reported 222,497 Bolivians in Spain; and the 2010 US Census counted 99,210 Bolivians in the US.  Almost half (48.9 per cent) of Bolivian migrants live in Argentina.

The report notes the increase in South–South remittances from Brazil and Chile to Bolivia as an interesting new trend.  In 2011, Brazil became the fourth most important remittance source for Bolivia, accounting for 3.7 per cent of the annual total inbound remittances, followed by Chile accounting for 3.3 per cent.

In the South American region, the Argentina–Bolivia corridor is the third most relevant South–South corridor in terms of annual volumes, after Venezuela–Colombia and Argentina–Paraguay.

The report’s author explains that finding reliable data and information on the Argentina–Bolivia remittance corridor is difficult because of the level of informal transfers.  “There are many informal ways for remittances to enter Bolivia and therefore they are not recorded in official statistics; these are mainly hand-carried by the migrants themselves or by a third party. Another important revelation from the interviews carried out for this study is that 69 per cent of those we spoke to did not have a bank account in Bolivia or Argentina,” explained Matteo Mandrile, IOM Regional Remittance Officer.

Mandrile added that the high costs of sending remittances in the South-South context also contributes to many migrants relying on informal channels.

The research, which included interviews with 200 Bolivian migrants living in the Greater Buenos Aires and Gran La Plata regions, also revealed that very little of the remittances are used for savings. The vast majority of the money received by family members back home is used for food, health care, schooling and housing costs. The average monthly remittance is around USD 200 per household, which is twice the minimum salary in Bolivia.

The report suggests looking at two broad areas of public policies as regards remittances: the design of a specific financial education policy for migrants, to increase their financial inclusion and their family assets; and a policy on the remittance market transparency and control, leading to a reduction in transfer costs, and to curbing possible abuses suffered by senders.

The publication “The South–South Remittance Corridor between Argentina and Bolivia” is available in English and Spanish at: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2&zenid=n18cou0jrv002nc1u9mv61qvu6

For more information please contact

Magdalena Mactas
IOM Buenos Aires
Tel +54 11 5219 2033
Email: mmactas@iom.int