Remittances hit $1.2 billion in eight months

Fijians living overseas sent home $1.2 billion between January and August this year.

This was revealed by Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel in Parliament in response to a written question from Opposition MP Vijay Nath.

That is already close to the $1,323.2 million received for the whole of 2025.

Mr Nath had asked for the remittance totals from 2023 to 2025, the countries they came from and the latest 2026 figures.

Mr Immanuel said inflows were $1,253.3 million in 2023, $1,328.3 million in 2024 and `$1,323.2 million in 2025.

Australia was the biggest source in each of those years. From January to July 2026, it made up 45.3 percent, followed by the United States at 20.1 percent and New Zealand at 15.3 percent.

The way money reaches Fiji is also changing. Mobile network operators handled 56.1 percent of remittances in 2025, up from 38 per cent in 2023.

Commercial banks’ share fell from 20.1 percent in 2023 to 11.1 percent in 2025. It rose to 36.5 percent from January to August this year.

Remittances were equal to 9.3 per cent of Fiji’s GDP in 2025, up from 5.1 per cent in 2015.

“Both the value of remittances and their contribution to the economy have increased substantially,” the response stated.

Mr Immanuel said the outlook would depend on economic conditions and jobs in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.