Diaspora remittance inflows from Nigerians living in other countries around the world amounted to $125.169 billion in the six-year period spanning 2016 to 2021.
This is indicated in the latest demography report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, inward remittance in 2016 was $19.51 billion, while it increased to $21.80 billion in 2017 and further rose to $24.06 billion in 2018.
However, it fell to $23.55 billion in 2019 while the downtrend was worsened by the covid-19 induced global economic disruption in 2020 with a significant decline in remittances into Nigeria to $17 billion.
As the tide turned upwards in 2021 following various recovery plans from the covid pandemic, restoration of viable economic activities and opening up of economies from lockdowns in various countries, Nigerians in diaspora transferred home a total of $19.24 billion as remittances.
In a separate report, the World Bank disclosed in its recently published Migration and Development Brief that Nigeria received $20.1 billion remittances in 2022, making the country the highest destination in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Meanwhile, outward remittances within the six-year period (2016 – 2021) amounted to $1.208 billion. The outward remittances observed a declining trend from $733.21 million in 2016 to #268.93 million in 2017 and $52.12 million in 2018.
It further plunged to $49.99 million in 2019 but regained momentum and rose to $56.44 million in 2020. In addition, 2021 recorded $47.55 million, indicating a fall from the previous year.
BUSINESS METRICS’ cursory look at the figures shows that there exist an inverse relationship between inward and outward remittances, such that when the inward remittances increased, the outward remittances decreased, and vice versa.
Top Remittance Sources
As the report highlights top remittances sources, the United Kingdom topped the chart which may be connected to the rising interest of Nigerians in various age groups and across varying professions to relocate to the country.
In the six-year period spanning 2016-2021, Nigerians in the UK transferred a total sum of $80.387 billion to families and relatives at home as remittances. The figure represents 64.22% of all remittance inflows seen by Nigerian during the period.
The UK has remained number one choice for thousands of Nigerians who leave the Africa’s largest economy in search of greener pasture. For instance, Jonny Baxter, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, recently said that the United Kingdom issued approximately 132,000 visas to Nigerians during the first half of 2023 alone.
The second largest remittance source for Nigeria is the United State of America from where $14.263 billion came into the Nigerian economy as remittances in the period under review. This represents 11.4% of the total remittances seen from 2016 to 2021.
Canada appeared third on the list with $7.656 billion from 2016 to 2021 which represents 6.12% of all remittances recorded during the six-year period.
While the top three countries, namely UK, US and Canada, collectively contributed $102.306 billion to Nigeria’s remittance wallet which represents 81.73% of the total seen in six years, other contributors in the top 10 category are Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Libya, The United Arab Emirates, Italy, Sudan, and South Africa.
Remittances and Nigerian Economy
Diaspora remittances or remittance inflow refers to the money sent back home by a country’s nationals to their families and relatives in form of gifts or personal transfers.
For countries such as Nigeria, diaspora remittances have become a major source of foreign exchange (forex), helping to shore up the foreign reserves of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
While there are heightening concerns over the rising number of economically active Nigerians who relocate abroad to study and work, remittance inflow has been a way the exodus has been adding value to the domestic economy.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso recently pledged to work closely with Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to further chart ways to attract more remittances.
Efforts of the apex bank to increase remittances into Nigeria include introduction of a campaign tagged ‘Naira 4 Dollar Scheme’, which gives N5 rebate for every $1 sent by Nigerians in diaspora to the country. For instance, a customer that receives $10,000, gets N50,000 as reward.
