Nearly half of more than three million Indians working in various Gulf countries are from Kerala. They are credited with having boosted Kerala's economy in the past three decades by sending remittances worth billions of rupees every month. During 2004, the remittance was reached 18460 crore rupees. As a result of remittances, the per capita income in Kerala has increased by 5,678.

Foreign remittances to the state have been 7 times of what kerala received from the Government of India as budget support. They have formed 1.8 times of the annual budget of the state and 1.74 times the revenue receipts of the state and the remittance were sufficient to wipe out 60% of the state's debt in 2003!  As the district level, remittances were the highest in Thrissur Dist with 3,234 Crore. Malappuram came next with 2892 Crore.

36.5 % of  emigrant Malayalees resides in U.A.E, and 26.7 % Saudi Arabia.  Hindus constitued 31.2 % ( Among them 36.1 % are Brahmins while only 3.1 % Sheduled Castes ) and Christians constitued 25.1%.  43.7 % emigrants are muslims. During 2004, Kerala's muslim population reduced to 25.9 % from 27.1% in 1999.  The largest increase during (199-2004) in the number of NRKs was not among Muslims (17.3%) but among Christians (53.9%).

Among Hindus, the Brahmin community was the most educated (51%) followed by Martoma Syrian Christians (47.5%). Muslims are at the bottom and are at par with Sheduled Castes, only 15 % of them fall in the high education group. Muslims are the most backward community in Kerala with respect to human resources.

The total remittace of 7,977 crore consists of 2,365 crore recieved by Hindu households, Rs 2,021 crore by Christians households and Rs. 3,590 crore recieved by Muslim households.

(Source : Gulf Revisited:Economic Consequences of Emigration from Kerala, Emigration and Unemployment, September 2004, K.C. Zachariah and S. Irudaya Rajan, http://www.cds.edu)