In 2017, flows of money sent by residents of the European Union (EU) to non-EU countries, referred to as personal transfers, amounted to €32.7 billion, compared with €31.8 bn in 2016. Inflows to the EU totalled €10.7 bn in 2017, compared with €10.1 bn in 2016.
This resulted in a negative balance (-€22.0 bn) for the EU with the rest of the world. The majority of personal transfers consist of flows of money sent by migrants to their country of origin.
Largest surpluses in personal transfers in Portugal and Poland, largest deficit in France
Among Member States for which data are published, the outflows of personal transfers in 2017 were highest from France (€10.6 bn), followed by Spain (€7.3 bn - see country note), the United Kingdom (€6.8 bn) and Italy (€6.1 bn). In contrast, the highest inflows were recorded in Portugal (€3.6 bn - see country note), ahead of Poland (€3.1 bn), Romania (€2.8 bn) and the United Kingdom (€2.3 bn). As a result, the largest surpluses in personal transfers were registered in 2017 in Portugal (+€3.0 bn), Poland (+€2.8 bn) and Romania (+€2.6 bn), while France (-€10.1 bn) recorded by far the largest deficit, followed by Germany (-€4.6 bn), the United Kingdom (-€4.5 bn) and Italy (-€4.0 bn).
Extra-EU personal transfers mostly directed to Africa and Asia
In 2017, the highest shares of intra-EU inflows among total inflows of personal transfers were recorded in Slovakia (99%), Hungary (95%), Luxembourg (94%), Poland and Romania (both 87%). On the contrary, extra-EU inflows accounted for about three-quarters of total inflows in France (74%), and for about two-thirds in Italy (62%) and Belgium (61%).
Luxembourg (91%), Slovakia (87%) and Ireland (79%) were the Member States that recorded the highest proportion of intra-EU outflows in total outflows. For extra-EU outflows, the largest shares were observed in Slovenia (88%), the Netherlands (83%), Portugal (80%), France and Poland (both 78%) and Italy (75%).
Extra-EU personal transfers were mostly directed to Asia (20% of total extra-EU outflows), followed by North Africa (19%), South America, Central and South Africa (both 14%) and non-EU European countries (13%).