Remittances to El Salvador rebound after early pandemic drop

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The money sent home to El Salvador by migrants plunged 40% at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but then recovered to end 2020 at a record high of $5.92 billion, authorities said Monday.

The country’s central bank said the figure was 4.8% higher than in 2019, or almost $270 million more.

Remittances account for 23% percent of El Salvador’s gross domestic product and benefit about 360,000 households.

The lowest point was in April, when remittances were down 40% as compared to the same month of 2019, but by June they started recovering.

The vast majority of Salvadoran migrants, almost 2 million, work in the United States, where the economic effects of the pandemic resulted in lost income.