Remittance inflow has helped Bangladesh cut its poverty by 6 percent, according to the World Bank's annual "Global Economic Prospects" (GEP) report for 2006.

"Remittances have association with significant declines in poverty in several low-income countries including 6 percent in Bangladesh, 11 percent in Uganda and 5 percent in Ghana," The Daily Star quoted the report as saying on Tuesday.

In addition, remittances appear to help households maintain their consumption levels in the face of economic shocks and adversity. Remittances are also associated with increased household, investments in education and health, as well as bolstered entrepreneurship.

These conclusions are borne out by findings of a recent World Bank research study on "International Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain."

But the fees charged by remittance service providers are often as high as 10 to 15 percent of the remitted amount for small transfers typically made by poor migrants. The GEP report recommends actions to reduce these fees, which are often much higher than the actual cost of carrying out the transactions.

The South Asia region will receive an estimated 32 billion US dollars in remittances in 2005, a 67 percent increase from 2001. With recorded inflows of 21.7 billion dollars in 2004, India received the most in remittances in the world.

Of other South Asian countries, Pakistan received 3.9 billion dollars and Bangladesh 3.4 billion dollars. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, remittance receipts are larger than tea exports, and in Nepal, remittances account for nearly 12 percent of GDP.

Officially recorded remittances worldwide are estimated to exceed 232 billion dollars in 2005. Of this, developing countries are expected to receive 167 billion dollars, more than twice the volume of development aid from all sources.

Source: Xinhua