According to the data released by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), total workers' remittances sent to their country of origin amounted in 2009 to 30.3 billion Euro, representing a decrease of about 7% towards previous year. These figures show a shift in the positive trends this economic indicator showed over the last years.

Money sent by migrants to their country of origin, referred to as workers' remittances, had registered a constant increase over recent years in the European Union as a whole. However, this indicator shows that in 2009, total EU27 outflows amounted to 30.3 billion Euro in 2009, which compared with 32.6 billion Euro in 2008, show a decrease of -7%.

The decrease, which shows an interruption in the positive trend over the past years due to economic crisis, affects both remittances within the European Union and outside it. While, the decrease in workers' remittances in 2009 compared with 2008 for extra-EU27 flows amounted to -7%, for intra-EU27 flows it was slightly lower, by -6%. The share of extra-EU27 remittances in the total stood at 73% in 2009, the same level as in 2008.

According to the data published by the European Statistical Office (Erostat) within the framework of Balance of Payments statistics, the highest outflow of workers' remittances in 2009 was registered in Spain, with 7.1 billion Euro or 22% of total EU27 remittances, followed by Italy with 6.8 billion or 21%, Germany with 3.0 billion or 9%, France with 2.8 billion or 9% and the Netherlands with 1.5 billion or 5%.

In 2009, the majority of Member States recorded decreases in the outflow of workers' remittances compared with 2008, with the highest falls observed in Spain, from 7.9 billion Euro to 7.1 billion; and France from 3.4 billion to 2.8 billion. On the contrary, the largest increase was registered in Italy, with an increase from 6.4 billion Euro to 6.8 billion.