Latest News
Remittances moderate as cost remains too high
News Highlight
According to the report, sending remittances remains too costly.
After a period of strong growth during 2021-2022, officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries moderated in 2023, reaching an estimated $656bn, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief.
The modest 0.7% growth rate habours large variances in regional growth, but remittances remained a crucial source of external finance for developing countries in 2023, bolstering the current accounts of several countries grappling with food insecurity and debt issues. In 2023, remittances surpassed foreign direct investment and official development assistance.
Remittance flows increased most to Latin America and the Caribbean, by 7.7% to reach $156bn; South Asia saw a 5.2% increase, reaching $186bn; and East Asia and Pacific (excluding China) witnessed a 4.8% rise, reaching $85bn. Sub-Saharan Africa saw a slight decline of 0.3%, falling to $54bn, while the Middle East and North Africa experienced a nearly 15% drop to $55bn, and Europe and Central Asia saw a 10.3% fall to $71bn.
According to the report, sending remittances remains too costly. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the global average cost of sending $200 was 6.4% of the amount being sent, slightly up from 6.2% a year earlier and well above the SDG target of 3%. Digital remittances had a lower cost of 5%, compared with 7% for non-digital methods, highlighting the benefits of technological advancements in reducing the financial burden on migrants.
Related News
Latest Blogs
- Access Holdings and African art renaissance
- NMDPRA should balance local content with market competition
- Why ‘T-Pain’ should be Tinubu's least worry
- Access Bank Project 111 providing a lifeline for women battling fibroids
- How Nigeria can boost maritime financing
Most Popular News
- Kenya’s KCB Bank signs €230mn deal to support SMEs, youth and women
- AfDB has invested $1.44bn to support infrastructure development in Nigeria
- FG proposes N47.9 trillion for 2025 budget
- COP29: Multilateral development banks to boost climate finance
- Airtel Africa records broad growth in half year results
- Unpaid care work prevents 708m women from participating in labour market