Nigerians Abroad Sent $21Billion Home In 2015 -

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).