COLOMBO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka saw a significant increase in remittances so far this year with over 560 million U.S. dollars sent back by migrant workers in March, Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said Friday.

Motorists queue up outside a fuel station to buy gasoline in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2022. (Photo: CFP)

Announcing the monthly remittances received, the minister said it marks a 78.5 percent increase from the inflows recorded in March 2022.

Nanayakkara said remittances by migrant workers have increased remarkably this year.

The South Asian country got 437.5 million U.S. dollars in remittances in January, and 407.4 million U.S. dollars in February, Central Bank of Sri Lanka data showed.

Official figures for the 2021 and 2022 totals were 5.49 billion U.S. dollars and 3.8 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

Migrant workers' remittances are one of the main sources of foreign revenue for Sri Lanka.