Nigerians Repatriate £3.27b From UK — World Bank

Nigerians living in the United Kingdom sent £3.27 billion back home in 2017, according to a report by the World Bank.

A study researched by the bank has found that Nigeria 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.

“Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to grow by 9.8 percent 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 incomes.

Largest remittance recipient country in Sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth largest among the Low, Middle income Countries (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 percent in 2018 Q3, 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 percent and the SDG target of 3 percent by 2030. (NAN)