Africa’s remittance boom: From $9.7 billion to nearly $100 billion in 2021

Africa's remittance inflow nearly reached $100 billion in 2021, driven by contributions from Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco, the top recipients on the continent.

Growing from $9.7 billion in 2000 to $97.6 billion in 2021, highlights the crucial role of the African diaspora.

Source:

World Bank-KNOMAD

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Period:

2000 - 2023

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Egypt leads African remittance recipients in 2024 with $22.7B, while Nigeria trails behind with $19.8B

Africa received $96.4 billion in remittances in 2024.
Egypt ($22.7B) and Nigeria ($19.8B) dominated inflows, accounting for nearly half of the continent’s total.
Egypt’s 16% growth reflects stronger remittance networks and economic linkages with its diaspora.
Nigeria’s inflows grew modestly (1%).
Ghana recorded the highest growth (91%), indicating a resurgence in diaspora remittances.
Zimbabwe (-6%) and Tunisia (-3%) experienced declines, pointing to potential disruptions in inflow channels.

Over $3.2 billion was sent abroad from Nigeria from 2000 to 2023, with a $1 billion spike in 2015 standing out

Migrants living in Nigeria sent out over $3.2 billion in personal remittances between 2000 and 2023.
The year 2015 recorded a sharp and unusual outflow of $1.04 billion, the highest by far in the entire 24-year span.
After 2015, remittance outflows sharply declined, stabilising below $100 million from 2018 onward.
Prior to 2015, outflows were consistently under $110 million annually, indicating a major anomaly in that spike year.

Nigeria has received $430B in remittances since 2000, peaking at $24.3B in 2018

Nigeria received a total of approximately $430 billion in remittances between 2000 and 2023.
The highest amount recorded was in 2018, when remittances peaked at $24.31 billion.
In 2020, inflows dropped significantly to $17.21 billion due to the global COVID-19 crisis.
Between 2021 and 2023, remittances remained stable, averaging around $19.7 billion per year.

India's remittance inflow grew by 828% in 24 years — maintaining the top spot for 21 of them

India led globally for 21 of 24 years, followed by China (2) and Mexico (1)
No African country ever topped global remittance inflow rankings
Nigeria ranked among the top 10 recipients for several of the years
India’s dominance reflects its large global diaspora and steady labour migration
China’s brief lead came in the early 2000s but it was overtaken quickly
Mexico in the top spot for one year was tied to strong remittance links with the US
The top countries rarely changed, showing a stable global remittance pattern
Most global leaders have large populations abroad in high-income economies
Global remittances remain a major economic lifeline for developing countries

Nigeria led Africa in remittance inflows for 13 of the past 24 years

Egypt had the highest total remittance inflows across all years in the dataset.
Nigeria was consistently among the top 3 recipients every year, topping the chart for 13 years.
Morocco and Ghana showed strong, stable inflows throughout the 2000–2023 period.
Kenya and Senegal experienced some of the fastest remittance growth from 2000 to recent years.
Rwanda had high percentage growth, though starting from a small base.
A noticeable dip occurred in 2020 for most countries, likely linked to COVID-19 — followed by recovery in 2021 and 2022.

Malawi recorded its biggest year-on-year growth rate in remittance in 2003 with 1547.5%

Malawi's remittance inflow increased from $747k in 2000 to $263.4 million in 2023, with the highest year-on-year growth rate recorded in 2003. However, the biggest gain in value occurred in 2018, when it increased by $102.2 million over 2017.