Acording to a World Bank estimate, the Nigerian diaspora sent $168.33 billion to Nigeria over the course of the previous eight years.
The remittance was sent while the country’s foreign investment inflow remained uncertain throughout those years due to a lack of foreign money, which later caused the naira to collapse precipitously.
Remittances from Nigeria’s diaspora have made a significant contribution to reducing the negative effects of foreign exchange shortages and maintaining the nation’s foreign exchange reserve, according to data from the World Bank and Budget Office of the Federation.
Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa increased by 5.2% to $53 billion in 2022, according to the World Bank, with Nigeria receiving the highest portion.
According to data from the international bank, Nigerians living abroad sent home a total of $168.33 billion between 2015 and 2022.
A breakdown of the figures revealed that in 2015, the Diaspora remittance was $21.2 billion; it plummeted to $19.7 billion in 2016; and rose to $22bn in 2017.
It further stated that in 2018, it was $24.31 billion. It soon fell to $23.81 billion in 2019, and the pandemic caused it to fall to $17.21 billion in 2020. It came back stronger to $19.2 billion in 2021 and by 2022 the World Bank estimated that the inflows into the country had reached $20.9 billion.
Prior to 2020, Nigeria’s remittance inflows had only fallen below $20 billion once, when it fell to $19.7 billion in 2016. According to the World Bank, Diaspora remittance one of the top sources of non-oil foreign exchange for the country in 2022.
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