Diaspora remittances have rapidly increased over the past few years and have also become a large source of foreign income for many developing countries.
According to Visualcapitalist.com, personal inbound remittances have risen seven times between 2000 and 2023 globally. Research and Markets also projects the global remittance market to hit $107.80 billion by 2030.
The influence of diaspora remittances cannot be overemphasised as it plays a critical role in a country's economy.
According to the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), for over a decade, remittances to Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) have been about three times the volume of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and exceeded Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to LMICs by more than $250 billion in 2023.
Top 10 Countries by Personal Remittances Received (2023)
The study which is based on a 2000-2023 data by KNOMAD explains that the remittances do not represent foreign investments but are made up of personal remittances, or money sent between residents and non-residents, including personal transfers and compensation for work done abroad.
| Top countries receiving money from abroad | Amount |
|---|---|
| India | $125B |
| Mexico | $67B |
| China | $50B |
| Philippines | $40B |
| France | $34B |
| Pakistan | $24B |
| Egypt | $24B |
The data further revealed the huge differences in diaspora remittances in the represented countries, especially India’s remittance which is noted to drown the combined value of the next two countries, Mexico ($67 billion) and China ($50 billion).
The $21 billion figure recorded as remittances by Nigerians in diaspora has been argued according to a statement by Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
According to Oyedele, about $18 billion representing 90% of the estimated diaspora remittances to Nigeria in 2023 did not end up in the country as the transfers were ‘externalised’.