KUALA LUMPUR - Indonesia’s migrant workers have remitted a total of Rp136 trillion or around USD8.4 billion, as of the second quarter of 2025.

Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI) Mukhtarudin said the figure reflects the significant contribution of overseas workers to the national economy.

He added that in 2024, migrant worker remittances reached about Rp253 trillion (about USD15.7 billion).

Remittances from Indonesian migrant workers accounted for about one percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year.

However, Mukhtarudin said Indonesia still lags behind neighbouring countries such as the Philippines.

“The Philippines recorded around Rp600 trillion in remittances in 2024, and 30 percent of its GDP came from migrant workers,” he said during the Financial Education for Indonesian Migrant Workers event at Puri Ardhya Garini, East Jakarta, last Monday.

He explained that the Philippines’ success in achieving high remittance levels is due to its structured education for migrant workers.

According to him, the Philippine government has integrated education on labour migration into its school curriculum starting from the primary level.

Mukhtarudin said the Indonesian government plans to take a similar approach to strengthen the capacity of its workers abroad.

“With the Sekolah Rakyat programme, we will insert a curriculum module on migration education to help improve the skills and preparedness of Indonesian migrant workers,” he said.

Chief Executive for Financial Services Behavioural Supervision, Education, and Consumer Protection at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Friderica Widyasari Dewi, said Indonesia had 3.9 million migrant workers in 2024.

She said each worker sent home an average of Rp64 million per year.

Based on OJK data, 48% of remittances were used for daily needs, 21% for investments, 7% for savings, 5%for business, and 9% for other purposes.

Friderica said the flow of remittances, which exceeds Rp250 trillion each year, presents a major opportunity for the national financial services industry.

“This means all players in the industry including banks, pawnshops, insurance companies, and microfinance institutions have a major responsibility to enhance financial literacy and inclusion among migrant workers,” she said.

She added that increasing financial awareness will help ensure migrant workers can manage their income more effectively and build long-term stability, Tempo reported.