According to a forecast by the World Bank, Nigeria will record Diaspora remittances of $17.6 billion into the country in 2021, marking a 2.5 per cent rise from $17.2 billion recorded in the previous year.
The Bank made the forecast in a report titled, “Migration and Development Brief 35”, placing the moderate rise in Nigeria’s Diaspora remittances to growing impact of policies intended to channel inflows through the banking system.
Among other things the report anticipates a 7.3 per cent rise in remittances to low and middle income nations in 2021. The Bretton Woods Institution also forecasted a 6.2 surge in remittances to Sub-Saharan countries in 2021. The World Bank stated: “Remittances to low- and middle-income countries are projected to have grown a strong 7.3 percent to reach $589 billion in 2021.
“This return to growth is more robust than earlier estimates and follows the resilience of flows in 2020 when remittances declined by only 1.7 percent despite a severe global recession due to COVID-19, according to estimates from the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief released today.
“Remittance inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa returned to growth in 2021, increasing by 6.2 percent to $45 billion. Nigeria, the region’s largest recipient, is experiencing a moderate rebound in remittance flows, in part due to the increasing influence of policies intended to channel inflows through the banking system.
“Countries where the value of remittance inflows as a share of GDP is significant include the Gambia (33.8 percent), Lesotho (23.5 percent), Cabo Verde (15.6 percent) and Comoros (12.3 percent). In 2022, remittance inflows are projected to grow by 5.5 percent due to continued economic recovery in Europe and the United States.
“Costs averaged 8 percent in the first quarter of 2021, down from 8.9 percent a year ago. Although intra-regional migration makes up more than 70 percent of cross-border migration, costs are high due to small quantities of formal flows and utilization of black-market exchange rates.”
