Research by the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has found that the migrant phenomenon has injected at least $7 billion USD into the country’s economy since March.

The money has come into Afghanistan through international aid for migrants and from contributions sent home by almost six million Afghans living outside the country. 

“This [solar] year, more than $7 billion USD was injected into the country’s economy through the migrant phenomenon,” Refugees and Repatriation Minister Sayed Husain Alemi Balkhi said at an event to launch the Afghan Return Refugees Information System on Tuesday. 

“This could actually help the work of assistance to access the services for the migrants returning. Often, what we provide now is humanitarian assistance,” said Laurence Hart Special Envoy and Chief of Mission Afghanistan for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to the ministry, at least 1.5 million Afghans have returned to the country since 2001 – with most of them coming back from Iran and Pakistan.