In the first quarter as a whole, Portuguese nationals in the African country sent back €34.35 million, down 20.7 percent from the €43.35 million sent back in the first three months of 2017. In March alone last year €14.3 million was sent back from Angola.
The drop in remittances from Angola dominated the trend for those from all Portuguese-language countries in Africa, with March seeing a 42.1 percent decline in those remittances, to €8.7 million from €15.04 million a year earlier.
In terms of total remittances by Portuguese nationals living around the world, the total for March is similar to that of a year earlier, at €275.8 million, down 0.4 percent from €277.2 million.
Meanwhile, the remittances of foreign nationals working in Portugal to their home countries were in March up 0.3 percent at 44.03 million, from 43.8 million in March of 2017.
Remittances home from Portuguese nationals working abroad have for decades been a major contributor to the country’s balance of payments. In recent years emigration has again risen to levels not seen since the 1970s, with Portugal having the second-highest rate of emigration in the European Union.