Remittances from migrants – top 10 recipient countries in Africa: Global migrant remittances rose in 2022, according to the latest World Bank report. Internationally, remittances totaled $647 billion, up 8%. In Africa, however, the increase was only 2.63%, to 97.5 billion dollars. Egypt remains by far the largest recipient of these flows. Transfer costs are still very high.
Remittances from migrants in Africa: Analysis 2022
On the African continent, diaspora remittances totaled $97.5 billion, up 2.63% on 2021. However, these figures need to be put into perspective. Many migrant remittances, particularly from sub-Saharan African countries, are channeled through informal channels and are therefore not taken into account in the official statistics of banks, exchange offices and central banks. These data are therefore somewhat biased.
By region, remittances to North African countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Djibouti) totaled $44.5 billion, compared with $46 billion a year earlier, down 4.02%, mainly due to the decline in remittances from Egyptian migrants. Transfers to sub-Saharan Africa totaled $53 billion, up 6.1% on the previous year.
Remittances from migrants – top 10 recipient countries in Africa
Egypt & Nigeria in the lead
In terms of the major recipient countries of remittances, there were no notable changes. Egypt, Africa’s third most populous country and home to a diaspora of over 10 million souls, remains the continent’s biggest recipient of remittances. This volume stood at $28.3 billion, down 11.31% on 2021, when it reached a record $31.5 billion. Egypt alone accounts for 29% of migrants’ remittances to the continent.
As the country’s second-largest source of foreign currency after exports this year, remittances contribute to the country’s foreign exchange reserves and improve the current account balance. These transfers represented the equivalent of 8.1% of Egypt’s Gross Domestic Product.
In addition, these transfers also help to alleviate the situation of the Egyptian population, which has been hard hit by the effects of the global economic crisis following the Covid-19 crisis, and above all by the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and its effects on inflation, which has reduced the purchasing power of Egyptians.
Nigeria was a distant second, with remittances of $20.1 billion, down 3.3% on the previous year. Here too, the size of the diaspora plays a major role. As Africa’s most populous country, we have a large community abroad, particularly in the major Anglo-Saxon countries (UK, USA and Canada), estimated at over 17 million souls. During the period under review, the diaspora transferred $20.1 billion. Remittances from Nigerian migrants represent 38% of total remittance flows in sub-Saharan Africa.
Remittances from migrants – top 10 recipient countries in Africa
Behind these two demographically significant countries comes Morocco, whose diaspora remittances reached $11.2 billion, compared with $10.4 billion in 2021, an increase of 7.70%. The Kingdom ranks 3rd among recipients of remittances in Africa, thanks to its diaspora estimated at over 5.5 million souls, equivalent to 15% of the Moroccan population. This diaspora is very attached to its origins, and its remittances have a significant economic and social impact. These transfers, facilitated by the presence of Moroccan banks in countries where a large part of the diaspora lives (France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc.), represented the equivalent of 6.6% of the country’s GDP in 2022.
Behind this trio come Ghana (4.7 billion dollars), Kenya (4.1), Tunisia (3.1), Zimbabwe (3.1), Senegal (2.5), Algeria (1.8) and DR Congo (1.7).
Top 10 African countries receiving remittances
| Country | Transfers in 2022 | Change 2022/2021 | Transfers/GDP |
| Egypt | 28,30 billions of dollars | -11,31 % | 8,1 % |
| Nigeria | 20,10 billions of dollars | -3,30 % | – |
| Morocco | 11,20 billions of dollars | +7,70 % | 6,6 % |
| Ghana | 4,7 billions of dollars | +11,9 % | 6,4 % |
| Kenya | 4,1 billions of dollars | +8,5 % | – |
| Tunisia | 3,1 billions of dollars | 10 % | 6,0 % |
| Zimbabwe | 3,1 billions of dollars | – | 9,3 % |
| Senegal | 2,5 billions of dollars | -7,41 % | 9,1 % |
| Algéria | 1,8 billions of dollars | 0 % | 0,9 % |
| DR Congo | 1,7 billions of dollars | +30,77 % | – |
Transfer costs
Lastly, despite requests from multilateral financial and development institutions and receiving countries, transfer costs to Africa remain high. In North Africa and the Middle East, the cost of a $200 transfer to the region averaged 6.2% in Q4 2022. In sub-Saharan Africa, the average cost was 8% over the same period.