Guatemala’s exports superceded by remittances in 2022

Guatemala received more than $18 billion in remittances mainly from the United States in 2022 – a figure that exceeded the country’s income in exports, according to central bank data.

Last year’s remittances from migrants abroad were up 18 per cent from 2021, according to a report on the bank's website.

Exports between January and October 2022 totalled $13.2 billion.

Thousands of Guatemalans migrate to the United States every year to escape the poverty that affects almost 60 per cent of the country’s 17 million inhabitants, according to official data.

The foreign ministry estimates about 2.7 million Guatemalans live in the United States, but only about 4,00,000 have work papers.

Last year, the United States deported a total of 40,713 Guatemalans – up from 17,806 the previous year and 21,057 in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic severely restricted travel.

The record deportation number was 2019, when 54,599 Guatemalans were expelled from the United States, according to the IGM migration institute.