International Migrants Day

Remittances contribute to the reduction poverty; however, not all reach families in poverty. Between 1992 and 2006, remittances grew 405.5 percent among families in food poverty in rural areas.

Remittances have become a major source of income to many Mexican families. According to food poverty estimations for the year 2006, if no flow of remittances had existed that year in the country, 15.9 percent of the population would have been in food poverty conditions, instead of 13.8 percent nationwide. This represents an approximate reduction by 2.3 million people that year.

According to the 2008 Evaluation Report on Social Development Policy in Mexico, remittance contribution has been gaining a greater importance throughout time, especially in rural areas. By 1992 the difference between food poverty estimation with and without remittances is 0.9 percentage points, precisely a reduction of poverty by 0.9 million people.