World Bank Dataviz

How People Use Mobile Phones in Emerging Markets in Asia

Social media apps are the most commonly used mobile apps in emerging countries in Asia, according to a survey conducted by Jana, a Boston-based mobile technology company. For example, 87% of respondents in Indonesia have social media apps on their mobile phones. The second most common mobile apps are games. 

Jana surveyed over 3000 people in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam to find out how mobile phones are being used. Explore the results in their interactive infographic.

How much money do migrants send home?

Remittances – money sent home by migrants to family and friends – soared to record levels last year. Officially recorded remittances reached $500bn in one year, but we estimate that the true figure, including unrecorded and informal channels, may be even higher.

The Guardian has put together an interactive map using World Bank Migration and Remittance data to show how much money is sent from one country to another. India, shown below, is the greatest recipient of remittances.

Click here for the full interactive feature: http://bit.ly/U9c4PO

Which developing countries received the most remittances in 2012?

According to a new World Bank report, officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries are estimated to reach $406 billion in 2012, a growth of 6.5% over the previous year.

The top recipients of migrant remittances in 2012 are India ($70 billion), China ($66 billion), the Philippines ($24 billion), Mexico ($24 billion), and Nigeria ($21 billion).

These flows are expected to rise 8% in 2013 and 10% in 2014 to reach $534 billion in 2015. The size of remittance flows to developing countries is now more than three times that of official development assistance.

Source: Migration and Development Brief 19