Holiday Costs in 14 Countries: Lebanon Takes Lead in Total Spend on Festive Season
The holiday season is here! Around the world, families are making plans to celebrate the season with unique traditions, once-a-year meals, gifts and more.
In line with this exciting time, WorldRemit conducted a multi-country study1 to determine the true cost of Christmas in 14 countries, mining data to showcase the average costs of traditional Christmas meals, decorations and gifts.
Of the 14 countries observed, data showed that Lebanese households are the third-most impacted by the disparity between household income and holiday costs, spending 207% of their monthly income and 17% of their annual income on the holiday. Rwanda takes first place, followed by Cameroon, spending 708% and 410% of their monthly incomes, respectively.
Meanwhile, Filipinos spend 257% of their monthly income on the holiday. In the region, Christmas celebrations begin in September and extend into January, making it challenging for many families to afford the basic costs of Christmas. Without remittances into countries like the Philippines, celebrating Christmas would be near impossible.
More than 244 million people are classified as immigrants around the world and account for large percentages of populations in countries like the United States (14.4% of total population)2, UK (9%)3, Australia (30%)4 and Canada (21.5%)5.
During the holidays, immigrants and overseas foreign workers are often unable to celebrate with their families in-person, and find themselves working to support not only themselves, but also their families and communities back home.
Christmas is one of the primary reasons immigrants and migrants send money back to their home country. Because of the high cost of coveted seasonal items, food, and the overall impact COVID has had on supply chain and inflation, it is vital for remittance senders to be able to support those dearest to them by helping make Christmas a reality for their loved ones6.
For example, of the 14 countries observed that typically receive remittances, 10 spent more than 50% of their monthly household income on the holiday. A holiday that would be impossible without remittances, the season of giving becomes vital, where the world’s largest send markets typically only spend less than 3% of their annual income on the holiday.
To learn more about the study and see full results, visit: https://www.worldremit.com/en/cost-of-christmas.
