LatinWeek

Guatemala: On 6 February, the central bank (Banguat) reported that remittance inflows from the US were worth US$246.1m in January 2010, a 15% decline on the same month of the previous year. The fall is attributed to the global economic crisis. Guatemalan migrants sent a total of US$3.9bn overall in 2009, 9.3% less than in 2008. According to figures from the foreign ministry, there are some 1.2m Guatemalans living in the US, 60% of which are illegal.