Ghana placed 2nd in remittance flows to Africa in 2023, the World Bank has revealed in its 2024 Migration Development Report.
The country recorded $4.6 billion in remittance receipts in 2023.
Nigeria came 1st with remittance flows of $19.5 billion.
Kenya, Zimbabwe and Senegal came 3rd, 4th and 5th with inflows of $4.2 billion, $3.1 billion and $2.9 billion respectively.
According to the World Bank, remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa were nearly 1.5 times the size of Foreign Direct Inflows in 2023, and relatively more stable. FDI flows to the region reached $38.6 billion in 2023, driven primarily by greenfield project announcements in Kenya and Nigeria (UNCTAD 2024).
The World Bank said remittances have become the most important foreign exchange earner in several countries. For example, in Kenya remittances are larger than the country’s key exports, including tourism, tea, coffee, and horticulture.
Countries more dependent on receipts as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product include the Gambia, Lesotho, Comoros, Liberia, and Cabo Verde with remittances contributing more than a fifth of GDP in the first three countries.
The report added that regional growth in remittances in 2023 was largely driven by strong remittance growth in Uganda (15% to $1.4 billion), Rwanda (9.3% to $0.5 billion), Kenya (2.6% to $4.2 billion), and Tanzania (4% to $0.7 billion). Remittances to Nigeria, accounting for around 35 percent of total remittance inflows to the region, decreased by 2.9 percent to $19.5 billion.