Nigerians in the UK remit more money back home than any other diasporan community

NIGERIAN diasporans are the largest remitters of funds from the UK according to the latest survey by the World Bank which showed that they sent home £3.27bn ($4.1bn) in 2017 topping every other migrant community in Britain.

In the survey, Nigeria was ranked as the largest remittance recipient in sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth largest amongst lower-middle-income countries worldwide. According to the World Bank, the average cost of sending money to sub-Saharan Africa has decreased slightly, which has helped matters.

“Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to grow by 9.8% from $41bn in 2017 to $45bn in 2018 and projections indicate that remittances to the region will keep increasing but at a lower rate, to $47bn by 2019. The upward trend observed since 2016 is explained by strong economic conditions in the high-income economies where many sub-Saharan African migrants earn their income.

“Nigeria, the largest remittance recipient country in sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth largest among low to middle income countries, is expected to receive more than $25bn in official remittances by the end of 2018, representing an increase of more than $3bn compared with the previous year. Also, the average cost of sending $200 to the sub-Saharan Africa region slightly decreased, averaging 8.9% in the third quarter of 2018, representing the lowest cost ever registered in the region," the World Bank added.

According to the World Bank, a declining trend has been observed in remittance costs in the region since the beginning of 2018. However, it added that this average remains far above the global median of 6.9% and the sustainable development goals target of 3% by 2030.