China's Foreign Workforce Grows, Remittances to Reach US$5 Billion in 2024

The number of Chinese foreign workers (TKA) in Indonesia has steadily increased in recent years, specifically since 2022, as shown in the graph.

This increase coincides with the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic, the emergence of smelter projects in Central Sulawesi, and several National Strategic Projects (PSN) in Maluku and North Maluku.

According to data from the Ministry of Manpower, the number of Chinese TKAs in 2022 reached 52,973, a 40.47% year-on-year (yoy) increase.

In line with this, based on data from Bank Indonesia (BI), the value of remittances or money transfers from Chinese TKAs to their home country surged 529.53% (yoy) to US$2.53 billion.

Then in 2023, the number of Chinese TKAs increased by 55.97% (yoy) to 82,623, followed by their remittances soaring 53.18% (yoy) to US$3.87 billion.

The upward trend continued in 2024. The number of Chinese TKAs increased again by 23.4% (yoy) to 101,953, and their remittances rose 30.22% (yoy) to US$5.04 billion.

This 2024 data represents a new record high for Chinese TKAs in Indonesia, both in terms of the number of workers and the amount of money they transferred to their home country.

Here is a list of the top 10 countries of origin for TKAs with the largest remittance values in 2024:

1. China: US$5.04 billion
2. India: US$1.18 billion
3. Japan: US$570 million
4. South Korea: US$409 million
5. United States: US$408 million
6. Malaysia: US$232 million
7. Philippines: US$198 million
8. Taiwan: US$186 million
9. Singapore: US$113 million
10. France: US$86 million