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

Key takeaways

  • 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.

Between 2000 and 2023, personal remittance outflows from Nigeria amounted to over $3.2 billion, a reflection of the funds sent by migrant workers or foreign nationals residing in Nigeria to their families or communities abroad. These outflows remained relatively modest until 2015, when the data showed an extraordinary surge: over $1.04 billion was sent out that year alone, more than 30% of the total recorded over two decades.

This spike could indicate a unique economic or policy event, possibly related to capital flight, currency concerns, or foreign labour transitions during that period. Following 2015, remittance outflows gradually dropped, and by 2018, they settled into a more stable range, hovering around $80–90 million annually. This trend suggests that the 2015 spike was an outlier in an otherwise modest and steady remittance outflow landscape for Nigeria.

Source:

World Bank

Period:

2000 to 2023
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