For the international organization, during 2020, Guatemala's economy showed resilience, since in the context of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the GDP contracted only 1.5%.
According to the International Monetary Fund, in a context of favorable specialization of production and exports, resilience of remittances, and unprecedented support from monetary and fiscal policies, the drop in Guatemalan production was minimal compared to that reported in other Central American countries.
Although forecasts at the start of the pandemic were pessimistic, during 2020 the country received remittances of $11.34 billion, an amount that is 8% higher than the $10.58 billion recorded in 2019.
According to the most recent report from the Bank of Guatemala, only in December, remittances amounted to $1.164 billion, 24% more than those reported in the same month in 2019, when the figure was $941 million.
Due to the spread of the covid-19, family remittances sent to the country fell in March, April and May; however, the trend was reversed in June, when a 9% year-on-year variation was registered.
The most recent data from the Bank of Guatemala show that in the first six months of 2020 the country received remittances for $4.88 billion, an amount that is 1% lower than the $4.92 billion registered in the same period in 2019.
During January, the country received $425 million in family remittances, 6% more than in the same month in 2019.
Economic growth and employment in the United States are two determining variables in the income of family remittances, since their performance influences the economy of those who send remittances to Salvadoran households. In this sense, economic growth in the fourth quarter of the United States for 2019 was 2.1%, according to an official report.
During the first month of the year, family remittances sent to Guatemala registered a 22% year-on-year variation, a rise that exceeds the 8% increase registered in the same period in 2018.
According to the most recent figures from the Bank of Guatemala, in January 2020 the country received remittances of $834 million, an amount that exceeds by $46 million that registered in the same month of 2019.
Last year the country received $5.65 billion in family remittances, which is 5% more than the amount reported in 2018.
In 2019, the central zone of the country received 36.6% of total remittances, equivalent to $2,069.7 million, followed by the eastern zone with 32.1%, or $1,811 million. The western zone totaled $946.7 million (16.8% of the total) and the paracentral zone received $680.7 million, equivalent to 12% of total remittances, reported the Central Reserve Bank (BCR).
Last year, family remittances sent to Guatemala totaled $10.508 million, 13% more than what was reported in 2018.
According to the latest figures from the Bank of Guatemala, in December 2019 the country received remittances of $941 million, an amount that exceeds by 12% the $843 million registered in the same month in 2018.
Between 2013 and 2019 remittance income has almost doubled, as figures rose from $5,105 million in 2013 to $10,508 million in 2019.
From January to November 2019, family remittances sent to Guatemala totaled $9,567 million, 13% more than what was reported in the same period in 2018.
According to the most recent figures from the Bank of Guatemala, in November 2019 the country received $819 million in remittances, 8% more than the $757 million recorded in the same month in 2018.
Between the first eleven months of 2013 and the same period in 2019, remittance income practically doubled, from $4.658 million in 2013 to $9.568 million in 2019.
According to the Central Bank, the constructive activity and consumption spending that Guatemalans make with the money received from abroad will boost the economy by the end of 2019, and this expansive cycle could extend until 2020.
During this year residential and commercial construction, together with public investment, have affected activities such as manufacturing, mining and quarrying, private services and commerce, informed representatives of the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat).
In the first ten months of the year, the country received $4.642 million in remittances, 5% more than in the same period of 2018.
During October the country received $482.6 million in family remittances, more than the $458 million received in the same month in 2018. In addition, 1.8 million operations in the financial system were registered under this same concept, according to an official report.
During October 2019, family remittances sent to the country totaled nearly $1 billion, the largest amount recorded in a single month.
The most recent figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) show that in October 2019 the country received remittances of $999.96 million, 16% more than the $863 million recorded in the same month in 2018.
According to official data for the period from January to October 2019, family remittances sent to Guatemala totaled $8.747 million, 14% more than in the same period in 2018.
In the first nine months of this year, the country received $4.159 million in remittances, surpassing in 4% what was reported in the same period of 2018.
During September the country recorded $459 million in remittances, more than the $429.3 million received in the same month in 2018. In addition, the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reported that 1.7 million remittance transactions were recorded in the financial system.
From January to September 2019, family remittances to Guatemala totaled $7.748 million, 14% more than in the same period in 2018.
The most recent figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) indicate that in September 2019 the country received remittances of $892 million, 20% more than the $745 million recorded in the same month in 2018.
Between the first nine months of 2013 and the same period in 2019, remittance income practically doubled, from $3.801 billion in 2013 to $7.748 billion in 2019.
From January to August of this year, the country received $3.791 million in family remittances, an amount 12% higher than that reported in the same period in 2018.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Honduras, between the first eight months of 2018 and the same period this year, the flow of family remittances grew by $391 million, from $3.4 billion to $3.791 billion.
In the first eight months of this year, the country received $3.7 billion in remittances, 4% more than in the same period in 2018.
Family remittances received by El Salvador from January to August 2019 reached $3.7 billion with a 4.1% growth, equivalent to an additional $146.5 million over the same period last year, according to the Central Reserve Bank.