Remittances from African diaspora grew in 2023, set to exceed $100bn in 2024

Global remittances from African diaspora to their home continent are set to exceed $100bn a year amid demographic trends in Europe such as an aging population and a low birth rate that are creating a need for continued migration.

Remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) grew an estimated 3.8% last year, a moderation from the high gains of the previous two years, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief released recently. But the report adds that the risk of decline in real income for migrants in 2024 is of concern in the face of global inflation and low growth prospects.

In 2023, remittance flows to LMICs are estimated to have reached $669 billion as resilient labor markets in advanced economies and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continue supporting migrants’ ability to send money home.

Unlike in most of the other world’s regions, flows to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fell for the second year, declining by 5.3% mainly due to a sharp drop in flows to Egypt. By contrast, total remittances into the Sub-Saharan Africa region have increased by 1.9%, with remittances into Nigeria, which accounts for 38% of remittance flows to the region, expected to exceed $20 billion by the end of the year, according to the World Bank report.

Two other major recipients, Ghana and Kenya, are reported to have posted estimated gains of 5.6% and 3.8%, respectively. “Projections indicate that remittances to the region will keep increasing, to $55 billion 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,” the report says.