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Close to US$18bn in remittances in 2025, over US$10.3bn into HCMC alone. Where the money comes from, how it grew – and why Vietnamese families are already global.
Remittances to Vietnam reached close to US$18 billion in 2025 – a record, according to the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese. Ho Chi Minh City alone received more than US$10.34 billion, around 60% of the national total. Over fifteen years the flow has more than doubled. Behind the figure is a simple fact: many Vietnamese families have lived across several countries for a long time, and their money is already used to crossing borders.
Source: State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (Feb 2026); State Bank of Vietnam Region 2 branch via VnEconomy (Jan 2026); Department of Overseas Labour
Remittances are usually pictured as Tet gifts – envelopes sent home to parents in the village. That's still true, but it isn't the whole picture. Close to US$18 billion a year is a serious capital flow, on a par with some of the economy's most important sources of foreign currency, and most of it travels through formal channels such as banks and money-transfer companies.
This piece looks at remittances from a different angle: as evidence that Vietnamese families have been multinational for a long time. A son working in Japan, an aunt settled in California, a niece studying in Melbourne – their money and ties already knit several countries together.
Fifteen Years of Almost Uninterrupted Growth
According to World Bank staff estimates based on balance-of-payments data, remittances to Vietnam rose from about US$6.8 billion in 2008 to US$17.2 billion in 2020. In thirteen years the flow fell only once, in 2009, when the global financial crisis hit the incomes of Vietnamese abroad.
View data table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 6.8 |
| 2009 | 6 |
| 2010 | 8.3 |
| 2011 | 8.6 |
| 2012 | 10 |
| 2013 | 11 |
| 2014 | 12 |
| 2015 | 13 |
| 2016 | 14 |
| 2017 | 15 |
| 2018 | 16 |
| 2019 | 17 |
| 2020 | 17.2 |
Source: World Bank staff estimates based on IMF balance-of-payments data (archived series, via IndexMundi)
Even in 2020 the money kept coming. With borders shut and the world in recession, remittances to Vietnam still edged up. Vietnamese abroad sent more precisely because families at home needed more help – a well-known trait of remittances, which are far steadier than investment capital.
By 2025 the figure was close to US$18 billion. The State Bank's Region 2 branch put national remittances in 2024 at about US$16 billion, and Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said 2025 reached close to US$18 billion, the highest on record.
Ho Chi Minh City: Where Six Dollars in Ten Land
Ho Chi Minh City is the main gateway, usually taking around 60% of the national total. The State Bank's city branch data shows a clear upward path: US$4.7 billion in 2018, US$6.09 billion in 2020, US$9.46 billion in 2023 and more than US$10.34 billion in 2025.
Vietnamese abroad sent more precisely because families at home needed more help.
View data table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 4.7 |
| 2019 | 5.45 |
| 2020 | 6.09 |
| 2021 | 7.07 |
| 2022 | 6.6 |
| 2023 | 9.46 |
| 2024 | 9.55 |
| 2025 | 10.34 |
Source: State Bank of Vietnam HCMC / Region 2 branch, via Tuoi Tre (Jul 2023), VietnamFinance and VnEconomy (Jan 2026)
2022 was the only down year. Flows into the city fell about 7% in a turbulent year for the world economy. Then 2023 rebounded 43.3% – the strongest growth in a decade – and the climb continued over the next two years.
Most of the money moves through transfer companies. In 2025 about US$7.43 billion, or 71.8%, came through licensed remittance businesses, with US$2.92 billion through banks. The Region 2 branch's leadership also noted that remittances fund not just consumption but production and business, and expected further growth in 2026 on the back of economic stability and investment opportunities, particularly in real estate.
Where the Money Comes From
The 2025 map of remittances into Ho Chi Minh City has two big poles. Asia sent close to US$5.06 billion, 48.9% of the total, mainly from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The Americas, led by the US and Canada, sent more than US$3.3 billion, or 31.9%.
Two different stories inside one flow. Money from Asia is largely tied to labour: in 2025 Vietnam sent 144,345 people to work abroad, including more than 64,600 to Japan, over 57,000 to Taiwan and more than 11,600 to South Korea. Money from the Americas, Europe and Australia is tied more to long-settled communities, where many families are now in their second or third generation.
The smaller regions are growing fastest. Remittances from Europe rose 16%, from Oceania 15.1% and from Africa 39.3%, while Asia grew only 3.2%. The flow is spreading geographically, mirroring an ever more dispersed diaspora.
Where Vietnam Sits on the World Remittance Map
The World Bank estimates remittances to low- and middle-income countries at about US$685 billion in 2024, up 5.8%. India led with more than US$129 billion, followed by Mexico, the Philippines and Pakistan. Over the past decade, remittances to these countries grew 57% while foreign direct investment fell 41%.
The flow is spreading geographically, mirroring an ever more dispersed diaspora.
Vietnam sits among the world's top 15 or so recipients. At about US$16 billion in 2024 it matched Indonesia and was well ahead of Thailand, at roughly US$9.5 billion. If the 2025 figure of close to US$18 billion is confirmed, the gap widens further.
Reading the Numbers With a Cool Head
This part deserves a careful read. The World Bank's World Development Indicators database currently publishes no remittance value for Vietnam for recent years, so the 2008–2020 series above is an archived estimate, with many years rounded, and shouldn't be stitched directly onto the domestic figures that follow.
The Ho Chi Minh City data counts formal channels only. Money carried by friends, sent informally or as goods goes unrecorded. Some flows labelled remittances are really investment capital from overseas Vietnamese, so the line between family support and investment is blurred. Read these numbers as a trend, not a ledger accurate to the last dollar.
A practical strategy for Vietnamese investors
Treat the family as a multinational balance sheet. If relatives already live, study or work abroad, your family already has income, costs and ties spread across several currencies. Your asset plan should reflect that reality.
Hold assets close to where your people are. An apartment in Melbourne, such as Park Modern South Melbourne, can house a child at university and earn Australian-dollar income – instead of wiring rent overseas every month.
Keep a foot in the home market. Most remittances land in Ho Chi Minh City, and many overseas families still want an asset at home. A project such as One Central Saigon shows how that two-way flow works in practice.
Use formal channels and keep clean records. Buying property abroad, or applying for investment residence, means proving the source of funds. Money that moved through banks with full paperwork makes any application far smoother.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Vietnam receive in remittances in 2025?
According to the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, close to US$18 billion. Ho Chi Minh City alone received more than US$10.34 billion.
Where do remittances to Vietnam mainly come from?
For Ho Chi Minh City in 2025, Asia supplied 48.9% and the Americas 31.9%. Europe and Oceania each contributed close to 9%.
Are remittances used to buy property?
Partly. The State Bank says remittances go to consumption, business and investment, including real estate, but it doesn't publish a breakdown by purpose.
NAC strategic insight
Remittances reveal something most "move abroad" conversations miss: Vietnamese families have been global for a long time. Millions of Vietnamese live in more than 130 countries, and close to US$18 billion a year is the bridge that ties them to home. The question is no longer whether to step into the world, but how to arrange a family's assets to match a life that is already spread out.
NAC helps Vietnamese families see the whole picture: where relatives are, which way money is flowing, and which asset in which country fits best. If you'd like to start from your own family's situation, book a consultation with NAC.
Sources
- VnEconomy — More than US$10.34bn of remittances to Ho Chi Minh City in 2025 (2026, Vietnamese)
- Bao Phap Luat — Remittances hit a record close to US$18bn in 2025 (2026, Vietnamese)
- World Bank — In 2024, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (2024)
- World Bank — World Development Indicators: personal remittances received (2026)
- Bao Chinh Phu — Manpower export in 2025 exceeds year plan (2026)
