$286.1 million in remittances from Filipinos in Kuwait
Remittances sent by Filipino workers from Kuwait rose by 3.42% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, reaching $286.10 million, compared to $276.64 million during the same period in 2025, an increase of $9.46 million, according to official data from the Central Bank of the Philippines.
Kuwait thus ranked fourth in the Gulf region in terms of the value of remittances from Filipino workers during the first six months of the current year, following Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, while recording the fourth-highest growth rate among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The data reveals a continued upward trend in remittances sent by Filipinos from Kuwait during the first half of 2026, with their value increasing by approximately $9.46 million compared to the same period last year, reflecting an annual growth rate of 3.42%.
Kuwait accounted for approximately 9.77% of the total remittances from Filipino workers across the GCC during the first half of 2026, which totaled $2.92 billion. Meanwhile, remittances from Filipinos in Kuwait represented about 1.67% of the total remittances from Filipino workers from all countries worldwide, which amounted to approximately $17.15 billion during the same period.
At the GCC level, remittances from Filipino workers across the six member states rose by 3.53% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, reaching $2.92 billion, compared to approximately $2.82 billion in the first half of 2025, an increase of $99.84 million.
This regional growth was supported by increases in remittances from all GCC countries. The United Arab Emirates led in growth rates at 4.27%, with remittances rising to $750.29 million in the first half of 2026, compared to $719.58 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Qatar ranked second in growth rate at 3.74%, with remittances from Filipino workers increasing to $508.18 million, compared to $489.85 million. Saudi Arabia followed with a growth rate of 3.55%, recording the highest value of remittances in the Gulf at $1.07650 billion, compared to $1.03959 billion in the first half of last year.
Remittances from Filipino workers across the six GCC countries accounted for approximately 96.64% of the total remittances from such workers in the Middle East region during the first half of 2026, which totaled approximately $3.03 billion, reflecting the significant weight of Gulf countries as a source of remittances to the Philippines from the region.
At the continental level for Asia as a whole, remittances from Filipino workers amounted to approximately $7.03 billion during the first six months of the current year, with GCC countries accounting for 41.65% of this total. The total remittances from Filipino workers from various countries worldwide reached approximately $17.15 billion during the first half of 2026, with remittances from GCC countries representing about 17.07% of that total.
