Money
Why Gen Z is Approaching Money Differently Than Other Generations
Every generation has their own unique approach to money and personal finance.
Millennials, for example, found the journey to adulthood riddled with obstacles such as stagnating wage growth and uncertain economic conditions. These challenges, combined with other generational circumstances, helped to shape the group’s spending habits and attitudes towards money and debt.
Along this journey, Millennials ended up making their fair share of financial mistakes – but interestingly, evidence is now mounting that the next generational cohort (Gen Z) is already learning from their elders.
A New Approach to Money
Today’s infographic comes to us from Rave Reviews and it shows how Gen Z is taking a more pragmatic approach to money.
Gen Z saw some of their older friends take on massive amounts of debt, while also struggling to find well-paying jobs.
As a result, this new generation (born 1997 and onwards) is taking a much more pragmatic approach to the world of personal finance. Gen Zers generally want to secure well-paying and stable jobs, and to grow their savings rather than spending money that they don’t have.
School and Work
For Generation Z, an education is often seen as an end to a financial means. In other words, college is an opportunity to build a set of skills that will be valuable to employers, ensuring a stable career.
That’s why 88% of the first Gen Z grad class in 2017 ended up choosing their majors with job availability in mind.
Recent Gen Z grads are willing to put in the work, as well:
- 75% are willing to relocate to another state for a job offer
- 58% are willing to work evenings and weekends
- 78% have completed an internship or apprenticeship
- 77% earn extra money through freelance work, a part-time job, or an earned allowance
- 35% already own their own business, or are planning to start one in the future
While the Gen Z outlook on school and work is a defining factor in their attitude towards personal finance, how they save and spend money is also making a difference.
Saving and Spending
A whopping 89% of Gen Zers say planning for their financial future makes them feel empowered, while 64% have already begun researching the topic of financial planning.
With dollars and cents on their minds, Gen Z is a more frugal and fiscally responsible group:
- 72% say that cost is most important factor when making a purchase
- 47% use their phones in-store to check prices and ask family or friends for advice
- 66% plan to attend college in-state to save on tuition
As Gen Z enters the professional workforce and starts investing their savings, it will be interesting to see what comes out of this frugal and practical approach to money.
Money
Animated Chart: Remittance Flows and GDP Impact By Country
Which countries rely on remittance flows the most? This animation shows the amount of remittance income that countries received in 2022.

Visualizing Remittance Flows and GDP Impact By Country
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the flow of global immigration by 27%. Alongside it, travel restrictions, job losses, and mounting health concerns meant that many migrant workers couldn’t send money in the form of remittances back to families in their home countries.
This flow of remittances received by countries dropped by 1.5% to $711 billion globally in 2020. But over the next two years, things quickly turned back around.
As visa approvals restarted and international borders opened, so did international migration and global remittance flows. In 2021, total global remittances were estimated at $781 billion and have further risen to $794 billion in 2022.
In these images, Richie Lionell uses the World Bank’s KNOMAD data to visualize this increasing flow of money across international borders in 176 countries.
Why Do Remittances Matter?
Remittances contribute to the economy of nations worldwide, especially low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
They have been shown to help alleviate poverty, improve nutrition, and even increase school enrollment rates in these nations. Research has also found that these inflows of income can help recipient households become resilient, especially in the face of disasters.
At the same time, it’s worth noting that these transfers aren’t a silver bullet for recipient nations. In fact, some research shows that overreliance on remittances can cause a vicious cycle that doesn’t translate to consistent economic growth over time.
Countries Receiving the Highest Remittances
For the past 15 years, India has consistently topped the chart of the largest remittance beneficiaries.
Rank | Remittance Inflows by Country | 2022 (USD) |
---|---|---|
1 | India | $100,000M |
2 | Mexico | $60,300M |
3 | China | $51,000M |
4 | Philippines | $38,000M |
5 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | $32,337M |
6 | Pakistan | $29,000M |
7 | France | $28,520M |
8 | Bangladesh | $21,000M |
9 | Nigeria | $20,945M |
10 | Vietnam | $19,000M |
11 | Ukraine | $18,421M |
12 | Guatemala | $18,112M |
13 | Germany | $18,000M |
14 | Belgium | $13,500M |
15 | Uzbekistan | $13,500M |
16 | Morocco | $11,401M |
17 | Romania | $11,064M |
18 | Dominican Republic | $9,920M |
19 | Indonesia | $9,700M |
20 | Thailand | $9,500M |
21 | Colombia | $9,133M |
22 | Italy | $9,000M |
23 | Nepal | $8,500M |
24 | Spain | $8,500M |
25 | Honduras | $8,284M |
26 | Poland | $8,000M |
27 | Korea, Rep. | $7,877M |
28 | El Salvador | $7,620M |
29 | Lebanon | $6,841M |
30 | Israel | $6,143M |
31 | United States | $6,097M |
32 | Russian Federation | $6,000M |
33 | Serbia | $5,400M |
34 | Brazil | $5,045M |
35 | Japan | $5,000M |
36 | Portugal | $4,694M |
37 | Ghana | $4,664M |
38 | Jordan | $4,646M |
39 | Czech Republic | $4,539M |
40 | Haiti | $4,532M |
41 | Ecuador | $4,468M |
42 | Georgia | $4,100M |
43 | Kenya | $4,091M |
44 | Croatia | $3,701M |
45 | Peru | $3,699M |
46 | Sri Lanka | $3,600M |
47 | West Bank and Gaza | $3,495M |
48 | Jamaica | $3,419M |
49 | Armenia | $3,350M |
50 | Tajikistan | $3,200M |
51 | Nicaragua | $3,126M |
52 | Kyrgyz Republic | $3,050M |
53 | Senegal | $2,711M |
54 | Austria | $2,700M |
55 | Switzerland | $2,631M |
56 | Sweden | $2,565M |
57 | United Kingdom | $2,501M |
58 | Hungary | $2,404M |
59 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $2,400M |
60 | Slovak Republic | $2,300M |
61 | Moldova | $2,170M |
62 | Azerbaijan | $2,150M |
63 | Tunisia | $2,085M |
64 | Zimbabwe | $2,047M |
65 | Luxembourg | $2,000M |
66 | Netherlands | $2,000M |
67 | Myanmar | $1,900M |
68 | Algeria | $1,829M |
69 | Albania | $1,800M |
70 | Somalia | $1735M |
71 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | $1,664M |
72 | Malaysia | $1,620M |
73 | Kosovo | $1,600M |
74 | Denmark | $1,517M |
75 | Latvia | $1,500M |
76 | Bolivia | $1,403M |
77 | Belarus | $1,350M |
78 | Cambodia | $1,250M |
79 | Bermuda | $1,200M |
80 | South Sudan | $1,187M |
81 | Uganda | $1,131M |
82 | Mali | $1,094M |
83 | South Africa | $1,019M |
84 | Sudan | $1,013M |
85 | Argentina | $966M |
86 | Montenegro | $920M |
87 | Finland | $880M |
88 | Bulgaria | $850M |
89 | Slovenia | $800M |
90 | Australia | $737M |
91 | Madagascar | $718M |
92 | Turkey | $710M |
93 | Canada | $700M |
94 | Lithuania | $700M |
95 | Togo | $668M |
96 | Greece | $665M |
97 | Costa Rica | $654M |
98 | Estonia | $626M |
99 | Qatar | $624M |
100 | Iraq | $624M |
101 | Gambia, The | $615M |
102 | Tanzania | $609M |
103 | Norway | $600M |
104 | Panama | $596M |
105 | Burkina Faso | $589M |
106 | Hong Kong SAR, China | $571M |
107 | Paraguay | $554M |
108 | Mozambique | $545M |
109 | Niger | $534M |
110 | Cyprus | $527M |
111 | Lesotho | $527M |
112 | Mongolia | $500M |
113 | Rwanda | $469M |
114 | Fiji | $450M |
115 | North Macedonia | $450M |
116 | Guyana | $400M |
117 | Cabo Verde | $375M |
118 | Kazakhstan | $370M |
119 | Cameroon | $365M |
120 | Cote d'Ivoire | $360M |
121 | Liberia | $351M |
122 | Afghanistan | $350M |
123 | Ethiopia | $327M |
124 | Samoa | $280M |
125 | Mauritius | $279M |
126 | Saudi Arabia | $273M |
127 | Malta | $271M |
128 | Malawi | $267M |
129 | Zambia | $260M |
130 | Tonga | $250M |
131 | Comoros | $250M |
132 | Ireland | $249M |
133 | Suriname | $221M |
134 | Benin | $209M |
135 | Lao PDR | $200M |
136 | Timor-Leste | $185M |
137 | Sierra Leone | $179M |
138 | Guinea-Bissau | $178M |
139 | Trinidad and Tobago | $172M |
140 | Mauritania | $168M |
141 | Iceland | $164M |
142 | Eswatini | $148M |
143 | Belize | $142M |
144 | Curacao | $131M |
145 | Uruguay | $127M |
146 | Chile | $78M |
147 | Vanuatu | $75M |
148 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | $70M |
149 | Grenada | $69M |
150 | Botswana | $56M |
151 | St. Lucia | $55M |
152 | Bhutan | $55M |
153 | Djibouti | $55M |
154 | Dominica | $52M |
155 | Burundi | $50M |
156 | Aruba | $44M |
157 | Namibia | $44M |
158 | Guinea | $41M |
159 | Solomon Islands | $40M |
160 | Oman | $39M |
161 | Antigua and Barbuda | $35M |
162 | St. Kitts and Nevis | $33M |
163 | Marshall Islands | $30M |
164 | Kuwait | $27M |
165 | New Zealand | $25M |
166 | Macao SAR, China | $17M |
167 | Angola | $16M |
168 | Kiribati | $15M |
169 | Cayman Islands | $14M |
170 | Sao Tome and Principe | $10M |
171 | Seychelles | $9M |
172 | Maldives | $5M |
173 | Gabon | $4M |
174 | Palau | $2M |
175 | Papua New Guinea | $2M |
176 | Turkmenistan | $1M |
Total | World | $794,059M |
With an estimated $100 billion in remittances received, India is said to have reached an all-time high in 2022.
This increasing flow of remittances can be partially attributed to migrant Indians switching to high-skilled jobs in high-income countries—including the U.S., the UK, and Singapore—from low-skilled and low-paying jobs in Gulf countries.
Mexico and China round out the top three remittance-receiving nations, with estimated inbound transfers of $60 billion and $51 billion respectively in 2022.
Impact on National GDP
While India tops the list of countries benefitting from remittances, its $100 billion received amounts to only 2.9% of its 2022 GDP.
Meanwhile, low and middle-income countries around the world heavily rely on this source of income to boost their economies in a more substantive way. In 2022, for example, remittances accounted for over 15% of the GDP of 25 countries.
Rank | Remittance Inflows by Country | % of GDP (2022) |
---|---|---|
1 | Tonga | 49.9% |
2 | Lebanon | 37.8% |
3 | Samoa | 33.7% |
4 | Tajikistan | 32.0% |
5 | Kyrgyz Republic | 31.2% |
6 | Gambia, The | 28.3% |
7 | Honduras | 27.1% |
8 | South Sudan | 24.8% |
9 | El Salvador | 23.8% |
10 | Haiti | 22.4% |
11 | Nepal | 21.7% |
12 | Jamaica | 21.2% |
13 | Lesotho | 21.0% |
14 | Somalia | 20.6% |
15 | Comoros | 20.1% |
16 | Nicaragua | 19.9% |
17 | Guatemala | 19.8% |
18 | Armenia | 18.9% |
19 | West Bank and Gaza | 18.5% |
20 | Cabo Verde | 18.2% |
21 | Kosovo | 17.3% |
22 | Uzbekistan | 17.0% |
23 | Georgia | 16.2% |
24 | Moldova | 15.4% |
25 | Montenegro | 15.0% |
26 | Ukraine | 13.8% |
27 | Marshall Islands | 11.0% |
28 | Guinea-Bissau | 10.9% |
29 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10.1% |
30 | Albania | 9.8% |
31 | Senegal | 9.8% |
32 | Jordan | 9.6% |
33 | Philippines | 9.4% |
34 | Fiji | 9.2% |
35 | Liberia | 9.0% |
36 | Dominican Republic | 8.8% |
37 | Dominica | 8.6% |
38 | Serbia | 8.6% |
39 | Togo | 7.9% |
40 | Morocco | 7.9% |
41 | Pakistan | 7.7% |
42 | Vanuatu | 7.6% |
43 | Timor-Leste | 7.5% |
44 | Suriname | 7.3% |
45 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 7.3% |
46 | Kiribati | 7.2% |
47 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 6.8% |
48 | Ghana | 6.1% |
49 | Mali | 5.9% |
50 | Grenada | 5.8% |
51 | Zimbabwe | 5.3% |
52 | Croatia | 5.3% |
53 | Belize | 5.3% |
54 | Sri Lanka | 4.8% |
55 | Madagascar | 4.7% |
56 | Vietnam | 4.5% |
57 | Bangladesh | 4.5% |
58 | Tunisia | 4.5% |
59 | Cambodia | 4.4% |
60 | Sierra Leone | 4.3% |
61 | Mexico | 4.2% |
62 | Nigeria | 4.1% |
63 | Rwanda | 3.8% |
64 | Ecuador | 3.8% |
65 | Latvia | 3.6% |
66 | Romania | 3.6% |
67 | Niger | 3.6% |
68 | Kenya | 3.5% |
69 | Bolivia | 3.2% |
70 | Burkina Faso | 3.2% |
71 | Myanmar | 3.1% |
72 | North Macedonia | 3.1% |
73 | Mongolia | 3.1% |
74 | Eswatini | 3.1% |
75 | Azerbaijan | 3.0% |
76 | Mozambique | 3.0% |
77 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 2.9% |
78 | India | 2.8% |
79 | St. Lucia | 2.7% |
80 | Guyana | 2.6% |
81 | Colombia | 2.6% |
82 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 2.6% |
83 | Solomon Islands | 2.4% |
84 | Luxembourg | 2.4% |
85 | Mauritius | 2.4% |
86 | Sudan | 2.3% |
87 | Uganda | 2.3% |
88 | Malawi | 2.3% |
89 | Belgium | 2.2% |
90 | Sao Tome and Principe | 2.0% |
91 | Afghanistan | 2.0% |
92 | Slovak Republic | 2.0% |
93 | Antigua and Barbuda | 2.0% |
94 | Bhutan | 2.0% |
95 | Cyprus | 1.9% |
96 | Portugal | 1.8% |
97 | Thailand | 1.7% |
98 | Belarus | 1.6% |
99 | Mauritania | 1.6% |
100 | Estonia | 1.6% |
101 | Malta | 1.5% |
102 | Peru | 1.5% |
103 | Czech Republic | 1.5% |
104 | Djibouti | 1.4% |
105 | Burundi | 1.3% |
106 | Paraguay | 1.3% |
107 | Hungary | 1.3% |
108 | Slovenia | 1.2% |
109 | Aruba | 1.2% |
110 | Lao PDR | 1.2% |
111 | Benin | 1.1% |
112 | Israel | 1.1% |
113 | Poland | 1.1% |
114 | Lithuania | 1.0% |
115 | France | 1.0% |
116 | Bulgaria | 0.9% |
117 | Algeria | 0.9% |
118 | Zambia | 0.9% |
119 | Costa Rica | 0.9% |
120 | Palau | 0.8% |
121 | Panama | 0.8% |
122 | Cameroon | 0.8% |
123 | Tanzania | 0.7% |
124 | Indonesia | 0.7% |
125 | Spain | 0.6% |
126 | Iceland | 0.5% |
127 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.5% |
128 | Austria | 0.5% |
129 | Cote d'Ivoire | 0.5% |
130 | Seychelles | 0.4% |
131 | Korea, Rep. | 0.4% |
132 | Italy | 0.4% |
133 | Germany | 0.4% |
134 | Sweden | 0.4% |
135 | Denmark | 0.3% |
136 | Malaysia | 0.3% |
137 | Namibia | 0.3% |
138 | Switzerland | 0.3% |
139 | Finland | 0.3% |
140 | Botswana | 0.3% |
141 | Greece | 0.2% |
142 | Ethiopia | 0.2% |
143 | Qatar | 0.2% |
144 | Russian Federation | 0.2% |
145 | Brazil | 0.2% |
146 | China | 0.2% |
147 | South Africa | 0.2% |
148 | Iraq | 0.2% |
149 | Guinea | 0.2% |
150 | Netherlands | 0.2% |
151 | Uruguay | 0.1% |
152 | Kazakhstan | 0.1% |
153 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 0.1% |
154 | Argentina | 0.1% |
155 | Norway | 0.1% |
156 | Japan | 0.1% |
157 | Maldives | 0.08% |
158 | Turkey | 0.08% |
159 | United Kingdom | 0.07% |
160 | Macao SAR, China | 0.07% |
161 | Ireland | 0.05% |
162 | Australia | 0.04% |
163 | Oman | 0.04% |
164 | Saudi Arabia | 0.03% |
165 | Chile | 0.02% |
166 | United States | 0.02% |
167 | Gabon | 0.02% |
168 | Kuwait | 0.01% |
169 | Angola | 0.01% |
170 | New Zealand | 0.01% |
171 | Papua New Guinea | 0.01% |
172 | Turkmenistan | 0.001% |
Known primarily as a tourist destination, the Polynesian country of Tonga banks on remittance inflows to support its economy. In 2022, the country’s incoming remittance flows were equal to almost 50% of its GDP.
Next on this list is Lebanon. The country received $6.8 billion in remittances in 2022, estimated to equal almost 38% of its GDP and making it a key support to the nation’s shrinking economy.
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