22 April 2013, Lagos – The World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, issued at the weekend said that Nigerians and other residents in the country received a total of $21 billion last year in remittances from their relatives, friends and business associates.
Basically, Nigeria accounted for 67 per cent of the $31 billion total inflows to sub-Saharan Africa last year; this is as global payments hit $514 billion during the year under review.
The report said growth has been modest, noting that remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa have been recovering from the contraction associated with the global financial crisis.
The World Bank said: “In 2012, the region is estimated to have received about $31 billion in remittances, only about a one per cent increase over 2011.
Nigeria is by far the largest recipient of remittances in the region, accounting for about 67 per cent of the inflows to the region in 2012, followed by Senegal and Kenya.
Zero growth in-flows to Nigeria in 2012 is partly attributable to the feeble labour market recovery of its major remittance source countries in Europe, the UK in particular.
Remittance flows to Nigeria and the rest of the region are expected to grow significantly in the coming years to reach about $39 billion in 2015.”
According to the report, officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries grew by 5.3 per cent to reach an estimated $401 billion in 2012.
The Report added that remittances to developing countries are expected to grow by an annual average of 8.8 per cent for the next three years and are forecast to reach $515 billion in 2015.
It, however, observed that given that many migrants send money and goods through people or informal channels, the true size of remittances are much larger than these official figures.
The top recipients of officially recorded remittances for 2012, according to the report, are India ($69 billion), China ($60 billion), the Philippines ($24 billion), Mexico ($23 billion) Nigeria and Egypt ($21 billion each).
