The increase was higher than the forecast growth of 8 percent, said central bank Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. In 2009, Filipinos abroad sent $17.34 billion home.

Nearly 10 percent of the Philippines’ 94 million people work abroad, and the money they send back to their families fuels domestic spending and economic growth.

The major factors behind the increase in remittances were the wide range of countries that Filipinos are working in, demand for their skills and improved access to money transfer services.

Financial products like web-based remittance services, automated remittance machines and reloadable cash cards contributed to the resilience of remittances throughout the year, a central bank statement said.

“The stable flow of remittances continued to provide strong support to domestic demand,” the central bank said.

Remittances in 2010 were close to 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, it said.

For December alone, remittances grew by 8.1 percent to $1.69 billion.

The major sources of remittances in 2010 were the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UK, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.