MoneyGram advertisement in the Berlin Zoo train station / Photo: Femi Awoniyi

Nigerians’ remittances from UK highest – World Bank

A research by the World Bank has found that Nigerians was the top receiver of cash from the United Kingdom in 2017.

Nigeria was ranked the largest remittance recipient in sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth largest amongst lower-middle-income countries.

According to the report, Nigerians living in the UK sent £3.27 million back home in 2017.

“Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to grow by 9.8 per cent from $41 billion in 2017 to $45 billion in 2018. Projections indicate that remittances to the region will keep increasing, but at a lower rate, to $47 billion by 2019,” the report read.

“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 LMICs, is expected to receive more than $25 billion in official remittances by the end of 2018, an increase of more than $3 billion compared with the previous year.”

According to the Bretton Wood institution, the average cost of sending money to sub-Saharan Africa decreased slightly.

“The average cost of sending $200 to the sub-Saharan Africa region slightly decreased, averaging 8.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, the lowest cost ever registered in the region.

“A declining trend has been observed in remittance costs in the region since the beginning of 2018, but this average remains far above the global average of 6.9 per cent and the SDG target of three per cent by 2030.

© NAN

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