With about $21 billion sent home by Nigerians in diaspora in 2015, the
country is the sixth largest receiver of remittances in the world, the
Migration of Remittance Factbook 2016 has shown.
The country is also
by far the largest receiver of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa,
receiving a total of $34.8 billion this year.
The report, which
relied on data gathered from January to December 1, 2015, was compiled
by the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development with
support from the World Bank, German, Swedish and Swiss governments.
An
analysis of the report by PREMIUM TIMES also shows that the United
States and the United Kingdom are by far the most lucrative destinations
for Nigerian migrants. Nigerians at home received a total of $9.4
billion ($5.7 billion from the US and $3.7 billion from the UK) from
both countries in 2015.
According to the report, the U.S. is the top
remittance-sending country in the world. A total of $56.3 billion was
sent out of the US to other parts of the world. The second largest
remittance-sending country is Saudi Arabia with $36.9 billion followed
by Russia ($32.6 billion), Switzerland ($24.7billion) and Germany ($20.8
billion).
The report also shows that the cost of sending money
within Africa is the second most expensive in the world (the most
expensive being the cost of sending money between Australia to the South
Pacific country of Vanuatu).
For every $200 remitted from South
Africa to Zambia, senders are charged 19 per cent. The cost is 17.4 per
cent to send the same amount from South Africa- Botswana and 17.3 per
cent from Tanzania to Uganda.
In comparison, it cost just
0.6 per cent to send the same amount of money from Saudi Arabia to Nepal
and 3.1 per cent from the United Arab Emirate to anywhere in the world.
Migration
According
to the report, Nigeria is the third most preferred destination for
migrants in Africa after South Africa and Ivory Coast.
Nigeria is the fifth emigration country in the continent behind Somalia, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The report observed that 2.5 per cent (23.2 million) of the total population of sub-Saharan Africa are migrants.
The
study showed that Africa is by far the choicest destination for African
migrants. 84.6 per cent of African migrants are living within the
region.
While 4.2 per cent African migrants are found in high-income countries such as the US and in the European Union.
The
top 10 migrant destinations in the world, the report revealed, are the
US (46.1 million), Saudi Arabia (14.6 million), Germany (11.1 million),
Russia (11 million), United Arab Emirate (8 million), UK (7.8 million),
France (7.5 million), Canada (7.4 million), Spain (6.6 million) and
Australia (6.5 million).
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