Romanians Abroad Send More Cash Home

Remittances again registered an increase in 2013, with Romanians sending home 4.2 billion euro last year, according to data from the National Bank.

The rise is believed to signify that many Romanian emigrants to countries like Italy and Germany have again started to find stable employment after the worst of the financial crisis.

Around three million Romanians work abroad and their remittances provide an important economic boost to the impoverished country.

Most of the money, 925 million euro, was sent home by Romanians working in Italy.

Romanians working in Germany meanwhile sent home 595 million euro, followed by those in the US, who sent a total of 460 million euro in remitances.

Spain, a country in which a lot of Romanians are also working, ranked fourth with 393 million euro.

Experts say that any sustained increase in remittances will have a positive effect both on families and on the economy in general.

Money sent back to Romania by nationals working abroad has played a key role in keeping the country economically stable amid the financial crisis.

In 2010, the money sent home by Romanians was almost double the amount injected into the economy through foreign direct investment.

Bucharest ranks first in the European Union in terms of the share of emigrants' remittances in the country's GDP.

Cash returned by emigrants is mostly spent by families back home on buying food and paying for healthcare and education bills.