DUSHANBE, January 20, Asia-Plus  -- Last year, physical entities remitted 2.96 billion U.S. dollars to banks in Tajikistan, which is 33.6 percent more than in 2010, Mirzo Mavlonov, the head of the currency regulation department of National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), told reporters on January 19.

According to Mavlonov, remittances sent from Tajikistan by physical entities last year increased by nearly 10 percent as compared to 2010.

“Remittances were sent by physical entities to Tajikistan primarily from the Russian Federation but also from Kazakhstan and some other countries,” the NBT official noted.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, money transfers between Tajikistan and Russia in 2010 totaled 2.298 billion U.S. dollars.  2.216 billion U.S. dollars were reportedly remitted from Russia to banks in Tajikistan and 83 billion U.S. dollars were remitted from Tajikistan to Russia in 2010.

It is to be noted that the majority of physical entities sending money from Russia to Tajikistan are migrant workers.  Labor migrants are a critical component in the economy of Tajikistan and remittances keep many struggling families at home above the poverty line.