World Bank Says Nigeria’s Diaspora Remittances Will Exceed $20bn in 2023

The World Bank has said Diaspora remittance into Nigeria is expected to exceed $20bn by the end of the year as total remittances into the Sub-Saharan Africa region increase by 1.9 per cent.

This was revealed in the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief released this month, which stated that the global remittance flows would continue to grow in 2023 although at a slower pace.

The reports said, Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to grow by 1.9 per cent from $53bn in 2022 to $54bn in 2023.

Projections indicate that remittances to the region will keep increasing, to $55bn by 2024.

The slowed growth in remittances observed in 2023 is explained by the slow pace of growth in the high-income economies where many Sub-Saharan African migrants earn their income.

Remittances to Nigeria, accounting for 38 per cent of remittance flows to the region, grew by about two per cent, while two other major recipients, Ghana and Kenya, posted estimated gains of 5.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively.

It was also revealed that fixed exchange rates and capital controls were diverting remittances to the region from official to unofficial channels.

In 2024, remittance flows to the region are projected to increase by 2.5 per cent.

Remittances from the United States have remained stable.

Although the euro area has recovered, its output remains 2.2 per cent below pre-pandemic projections.

At the current official market rate of N885.88 per dollar, the expected total diaspora remittance is estimated at N17.717tn.

Lead economist and lead author of the report, Dilip Ratha, pointed out that  “Remittances are one of the few sources of private external finance that are expected to continue to grow in the coming decade.

She said they must be leveraged for private capital mobilisation to support development finance, especially via diaspora bonds.

She also noted that Remittance flows to developing countries have surpassed the sum of foreign direct investment and official development assistance in recent years, and the gap is increasing.

Nigerians abroad had sent $20.1bn home in 2022.