Migration and remittances: an index page

Remittances (the funds sent by migrant workers back to their families) are a major international financial flow into Mexico. Remittances brought more than 24 billion dollars a year into the economy in 2015, an amount equivalent to about 2.5% of Mexico’s GDP.

For an introduction, with links to some of the key pages on this blog, see

• Mexican migrants and remittances: an introduction
• How important are remittances to Mexico’s economy?
• Have Mexicans given up on the dream of moving to the USA? (Jul 2012)

Causes and trends:

• The US Bracero guest worker program
• Many Mexican Bracero workers still trying to claim their pay (Nov 2013)
• The link between climate change and migration from Mexico to the USA
• The impact of the economic recession on Mexico-USA migration
• Remittances sent back to Mexico rose only 0.12% in 2010
• Remittances worth almost 23 billion dollars in 2011 (Mar 2012)
• Net migration flow from Mexico to USA close to zero or has possibly reversed (Apr 2012)
• Remittances are on the rise (Jun 2012)
• Migration from Mexico to USA apparently on the rise again (Nov 2012)
• Remittances entering Mexico decline in 2012 (Feb 2013)
• Remittances to Mexico from USA decline slightly in 2013 (Nov 2013)
• Remittances fell 3.75% in 2013 but look set to rise in 2014 (Feb 2014)
• Remittances on the rise (May 2015)
• Remittances in 2015 exceed oil revenues (Feb 2016)

How do remittances work?

• International financial flows: how do migrants send remittances back home? (Nov 2011)
• The typical remittance, the last mile and effects of remittances on recipient communities (Dec 2011)
• What factors influence the decision about how to send remittances home? (Dec 2011)

Impacts of Mexican migrants on the USA and Canada:

• A round-up of news items about Mexicans in the USA
• Mexican migrants pay 53 billion dollars a year in US taxes
• How might the USA adjust to “narco-refugees” from Mexico? (Jan 2012)
• Why do Mexican seasonal farmworkers in Leamington, Ontario, have their own consulate? (Jan 2012)
• A round-up of news items about the Mexican diaspora in the USA (Jun 2012)
• Recent trends for Mexicans living in the USA (Jul 2013)
• Where do most Hispanics in the USA live? (Sep 2013)
• The impact of immigrants on U.S. public budgets (Sep 2013)
• Mexicans gradually reoccupying their former territory in the USA (Feb 2014)

Links between communities – “migration channels”.

• Migration channels between Mexico and the USA, or how distant towns are linked through migration
• Over half a million natives of the state of Puebla live in New York City
• From Morelos to Minnesota; case study of a migrant channel between Mexico and USA
• The connection between Napizaro (Michoacan) and North Hollywood (California)

The five major “states of origin”—Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas:

• The 10 states in Mexico receiving the highest remittances per person
• The 10 states in Mexico receiving the most remittances in total
• The 10 states in Mexico with the highest percentage of homes receiving remittances

What happens to migrants who are deported back to Mexico?

• Deported migrants set up home in Tijuana canal (Jun 2013)
• Mexicali receives more deportees than any other Mexican border city (Jan 2014)

Changes in Mexico that may impact migration:

• The maquiladora export landscape
• The Transnational Metropolitan Areas of Mexico-USA
• The impact of NAFTA on urban growth in Mexico

Internal migration:

• The geography of the Huichol Indians: the regional setting (Jan 2013)

Foreign migrants living in Mexico:

• Where do most foreigners live in Mexico? (Jan 2012)
• Where in Mexico will U.S. baby-boomers choose to live? (Dec 2013)
• “Los que llegaron”, Spanish language videos about Mexico’s immigrant groups (Oct 2013)

Practical Exercise (Mapwork):

• Mapping remittance flows to Mexico, a practical exercise  (Jan 2012)

This index page was last updated 30 May 2016. Other index pages include:

• The geography of Mexico City: index page
• 30 top geotourism sites in Mexico (Geo-Mexico special)
• The geography of Mexican farming, agriculture and food production: index page
• The geography of Chiapas
• Tourism index page
• Maps of Mexico on geo-mexico.com