Updated July 09, 2024

Money makes the world go round, and in Africa, a significant chunk of that money comes from a common source; Africans living abroad. 

A recent World Bank report reveals a fascinating story of financial flows into the top ten recipient countries across the continent reaching a combined total of $72.5 billion in remittances in 2023, with Nigeria receiving the most remittances from its diaspora communities.

In the year, Nigerians abroad sent a whopping $19.5 billion home. Despite being number is slightly down by 2.9% from $20.9 billion in the previous year, it narrowly edges out Egypt to claim the top spot in Africa. This translates to a dominant 35% share of the total $54 billion remittance inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023.

Apart from its regional leadership, a previous article covered by Techloy shows Nigeria in the No.8 position of the top 10 recipients of remittances among low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) globally.

CHART: Global remittance flow to low and middle-income countries reach $860 Billion in 2023

For many years, remittances have stood as the largest source of external financing for LMICs

The majority of these remittances came from countries with large Nigerian diaspora populations, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Italy.