According to data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the volume of money transfers received in the country from abroad increased by 13% year-on-year, reaching $9.3 billion for the period from January to June 2026. This growth amounted to $1.1 billion.
The regulator attributes the increase to the growing demand for labor and relatively high wage levels in traditional labor migration destinations, as well as the general strengthening of these countries' national currencies amid moderate exchange rate fluctuations since the beginning of the year.
According to Rosstat, the average nominal wage in Russia in the first quarter of 2026 was 106,900 Russian rubles, which is 15.1% higher in nominal terms and 8.7% higher in real terms compared to the same period last year. The Russian ruble, calculated based on official Bank of Russia exchange rates, strengthened by an average of 13.5% against the US dollar in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
In the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for private sector workers not engaged in agriculture increased by 13 cents, or 0.3%, in June, reaching $37.6, and grew by 3.5% year-on-year.
The Central Bank noted the continued diversification of labor migration destinations. The Migration Agency reported that Uzbekistan has signed 48 agreements with 23 countries on organized labor migration. Of these, 18 intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements were signed with 14 countries in 2025–2026. Furthermore, cooperation has been established with more than 325 major employers and recruitment companies from 36 countries.
Potential partners include Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, the United States, and Japan. New destinations include the United States, Italy, Sweden, France, and Slovenia.
Vacancies cover the sectors of trade and services, healthcare and social services, transport and logistics, agriculture, industry, construction, welding and metalworking, woodworking, as well as oil and gas and mining sectors. In the current year, 124,500 citizens of Uzbekistan were employed in high-paying positions abroad.
The largest increase in remittances was recorded from the United Kingdom, which rose by 62%; from the European Union—by 27%, including Ireland, where the growth was 86%, Lithuania—by 18%, and the Netherlands—by 7%; as well as from the United States—by 19%.
In absolute terms, remittances from Kazakhstan increased from $366 million to $469 million; from the United States—from $313 million to $372 million; from South Korea—from $282 million to $314 million; from Turkey—from $266 million to $303 million; from the United Kingdom—from $89 million to $144 million; and from the European Union—from $251 million to $319 million.
Of the total amount of funds received by individuals, $4.3 billion, or 46.7%, were transferred through traditional international money transfer systems, representing an increase of 0.3%. Another $4.8 billion, or 51.7%, was transferred directly to bank cards via P2P systems, which grew by 32%. Bank transfers via SWIFT amounted to $142 million, or 1.6%, a decrease of 43%.
The Central Bank also mentioned global trends. Over the past decade, international remittances to low- and middle-income countries have exceeded $5.5 trillion. Since 2015, remittances, excluding China, have remained one of the largest sources of external financing for developing countries, surpassing foreign direct investment since 2022.
In 2025, India remained the largest recipient of remittances with an amount of $151 billion, followed by Mexico, the Philippines, Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Simultaneously, according to the Central Bank, the amounts sent by Uzbek citizens abroad increased by 8%, or $100 million, for the period from January to June 2026, reaching $1.3 billion.
