Remittances are often countercyclical, rising during economic downturns and natural disasters as migrants increase their transfer of funds in order to provide for their families' emergency needs. However, this was not necessarily the case in recent years as major oil-producing host countries suffered large terms-of-trade losses. Latest available data suggest that, while a recovery is under way in North and Central Asia in line with the rebound of the economy in the Russian Federation, this trend is not apparent in South Asian economies, which rely on remittances from the Gulf Cooperation Council region (see figure 1.20).