Nigeria’s diaspora remittances inflow  rose to $14.2 billion in the nine months ending September 2021.

This is up 10 per cent Year-on-Year, YoY, from $12.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2020, despite the impact of COVID economy.

This is contained in a data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which also shows that diaspora remittances rose by 5.1 per cent, quarter-on-quarter, QoQ, to $4.28 billion in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 ’21) from $4.07 billion in Q4’2020. 

The upward trend continued in Q2 and Q3, when diaspora remittances rose QoQ by 21 per cent and 1.0 per cent to $4.92 billion and $4.97 billion.

By this increase, which translates to average quarterly remittances of $4.72 billion, annual diaspora remittances may hit $18 billion.

This is slightly above the $17.6 billion projected by the World Bank for 2021.

The World Bank in a report titled,  “Migration and Development Brief 35,”  released last November, had projected that Nigeria’s diaspora remittances will increase  2.5 per cent to $17.6 billion in 2021 from $17.2 billion in 2020.

The 10 per cent, YoY increase in 9M-21 also represents a reversal of the 41 per cent decline recorded in 2020 when diaspora remittances fell to $16.94 billion from $23.45 billion in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 triggered economic lockdown on the incomes of Nigerians in diaspora.