Overseas Pakistanis remitted $3.63 billion in July, an increase of 4.5 per cent over the previous month, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
According to State Bank of Pakistan data, Pakistani diaspora sent $913.9 million in remittances last month, a month-on-month increase of 10.1 per cent.
Remittances from the UAE fell nearly seven per cent to $737.3 million in July 2026. Dubai remained the largest source of remittances from the UAE with $575.5 million, followed by Abu Dhabi ($135.4 million), Sharjah ($14.25 million) and other emirates ($12.15 million).
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Among the other Gulf countries, a total of $336 million was remitted through official channels, an increase of nearly five per cent.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have traditionally been the largest source of remittances for the South Asian country as nearly half of the Pakistani diaspora resides in the Gulf countries, mainly Saudi Arabia and UAE.
There are over 15 million Pakistanis living abroad who send remittances every month to support their families back home. A large number of them live and work in the six Gulf countries – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.
In the UAE, there are around two million Pakistanis, with a large number of them working in Dubai and Northern Emirates.
Overseas Pakistanis have become the single largest pillar of external financial support for Pakistan’s economy. The remittances by the South Asian country’s diaspora now dwarf other sources of foreign exchange, accounting for roughly 20 times the country’s typical annual foreign direct investment, and comfortably exceed the value of all of Pakistan’s merchandise exports.
The diaspora’s contribution helped Pakistan offset a widening trade gap, with the record inflows helping offset a 21.6 per cent year-on-year increase in the trade deficit, which widened to $39.5 billion, allowing the country to maintain a current account surplus despite rising import payments.
During the 2025-26 fiscal year, remittances by overseas Pakistanis jumped 8.6 per cent to a record $41.6 billion.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz said overseas Pakistanis are a valuable asset.
Among the other countries, remittances from the UK rose nearly eight per cent to $555.5 million, while remittances from the EU countries totalled $462.1 million and $317.1 million from the US.
Source: Khaleej Times