If remittances to Africa were an economy, they would be the 6th largest in Africa, ahead of Kenya in the rankings. Within Africa, the largest recipient of remittances is Egypt ($29bn) – equivalent to almost 12% of its GDP.
Note – the data come from KNOMAD. Several countries do not supply data. Also, the data only captures recorded remittances data and excludes remittances through informal channels.
Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa grew almost 10% to $46bn 2018. Remittances to North Africa grew by more than 14% to $40bn. In Egypt alone, growth was 17% year on year. Egypt is the largest recipient of remittances, followed by Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal.
As a share of GDP, Comoros ranks highest, followed by the Gambia , Lesotho, Cape Verde, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria.
According to the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide database, the global average cost of sending $200 was 7% (i.e. $14). Remittance costs across many African corridors was above 10%.