Connect with us

Market

Ghana records $4.5bn in remittances – 2nd highest in SSA

Published

on

Ghana recorded $4.5 billion (5 per cent increase) in remittances in 2021, the second-highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank Migration and Development Brief.

It was $3.6 billion in 2020.

Remittances constituted 5.9% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the 10th in the region.

Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, led the pack with inflows of $19.2 billion in 2021 (an 11.2 per cent increase).

Remittance inflows toSub-Saharan Africasoared 14.1 per cent to $49 billion in 2021 following an 8.1 per cent decline in the prior year.

Growth in remittances was supported by strong economic activity in Europe and the United States, the report noted.

It said the largest recipient country in the region, Nigeria, gained 11.2 per cent, in part due to policies intended to channel inflows through the banking system.

Countries registering double-digit growth rates include Cabo Verde (23.3 per cent), Gambia (31 per cent), and Kenya (20.1 per cent).

Countries where the value of remittance inflows as a share of GDP is significant include the Gambia (27 per cent), Lesotho (23 per cent), Comoros (19 per cent), and Cabo Verde (16 per cent).

In 2022, remittance inflows are projected to grow by 7.1 per cent driven by the continued shift to the use of official channels in Nigeria and higher food prices – migrants will likely send more money to home countries that are now suffering extraordinary increases in prices of staples.

The cost of sending $200 to the region averaged 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021, a small decline from 8.2 per cent a year ago.

The World Bank said officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are expected to increase by 4.2 per cent this year to reach $630 billion. This follows an almost record recovery of 8.6 per cent in 2021, according to the World Bank’s latestMigration and Development Briefreleased today.

Remittances to Ukraine, which is the largest recipient in Europe and Central Asia, are expected to rise by over 20 per cent in 2022. However, remittance flows to many Central Asian countries, for which the main source is Russia, will likely fall dramatically. Thesedeclines, combined with rising food, fertilizer, and oil prices, are likely to increase risks to food security and exacerbate poverty in many of these countries.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered large-scale humanitarian, migration and refugee crises and risks for a global economy that is still dealing with the impact of the COVID pandemic,”saidMichal Rutkowski, Global Director of the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank.“Boosting social protection programs to protect the most vulnerable, including Ukrainians and families in Central Asia, as well as those affected by the war’s economic impact, is a key priority to protect people from the threats of food insecurity and rising poverty.”

In 2021, remittance inflows saw strong gains in Latin America and the Caribbean (25.3 per cent), Sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 per cent), Europe and Central Asia (7.8 per cent), the Middle East and North Africa (7.6 per cent), and South Asia (6.9 per cent). Remittances to East Asia and the Pacific fell by 3.3 per cent; although excluding China, remittances grew 2.5 per cent. Excluding China, remittance flows have been the largest source of external finance for LMICs since 2015.

The top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 were India, Mexico (replacing China), China, the Philippines, and Egypt. Among economies where remittance inflows stand at very high shares of GDP are Lebanon (54 per cent), Tonga (44 per cent), Tajikistan (34 per cent), Kyrgyz Republic (33 per cent), and Samoa (32 per cent).

“On the one hand, the Ukraine crisis has shifted global policy attention away from other developing regions and from economic migration. On the other hand, it has strengthened the case for supporting destination communities that are experiencing a large influx of migrants,”saidDilip Ratha, lead author of the report on migration and remittances and head of KNOMAD.“As the global community prepares to gather at the International Migration Review Forum, the creation of a Concessional Financing Facility for Migration to support destination communities should be seriously considered. This facility could also provide financial support to origin communities experiencing return migration during the COVID-19 crisis.”

Globally, the average cost of sending $200 was 6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021, double the SDG target of 3 per cent, according to the Bank’sRemittances Prices Worldwide Database. It is cheapest to send money to South Asia (4.3 per cent) and most expensive to send to Sub-Saharan Africa (7.8 per cent).

The costs of sending money to Ukraine are high (7.1 per cent from Czech Republic, 6.5 per cent from Germany, 5.9 per cent from Poland, and 5.2 per cent from USA). The global goodwill towards refugees and migrants from Ukraine opens an opportunity to develop and pilot programs to facilitate their access to jobs and social services in host countries, apply simplified anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing procedures for small remittance transactions to help reduce remittance costs and mobilize diaspora bond financing.

The war in Ukraine has also affected the international payment systems with implications for cross-border remittance flows. The exclusion of Russia from SWIFT has added a national security dimension to participation in international payments systems.

“Lowering remittance fees by 2 percentage points would potentially translate to $12 billion of annual savings for international migrants from LMICs, and $400 million for migrants and refugees from Ukraine,”addedRatha.“The cross-border payment systems, however, are likely to become multipolar and less interoperable, slowing progress on reducing remittance fees.”

World Bank Launches International Working Group to Improve Data on Remittances

The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have further highlighted the need for frequent and timely data. In April, the World Bank, under the auspices of KNOMAD and in collaboration with countries where remittances provide a financial lifeline, launched anInternational Working Group to Improve Data on Remittance Flows. Having improved data on remittances can directly support the Sustainable Development Goal indicators on reducing remittance costs and help increase the volume of remittances. This will also support the first Objective of the Global Compact on Migration, to improve data.

Regional Remittance Trends

Remittance flows to theEast Asia and Pacificregion fell 3.3 per cent following a 7.3 per cent drop in 2020. Flows reached $133 billion in 2021, close to 2017 levels. Excluding China, remittances to the region grew by 2.5 per cent in 2021. Remittances to the Phillipines benefitted from job creation and wage gains in the United States where a large number of Filipino migrants live. Among economies where remittance inflows constitute a high percentage of their GDP are Tonga, Samoa, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and Fiji. Excluding China, remittance inflows are projected to grow by 3.8 per cent in 2022. The average cost of sending $200 to the region fell to 5.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 6.9 per cent a year earlier.

Remittance inflows toEurope and Central Asiaincreased by 7.8 per cent in 2021, reaching historic highs of $74 billion. The growth was due in large part to stronger economic activity in the European Union and rebounding energy prices. In 2021, Ukraine received inflows of $18.2 billion, driven by receipts from Poland, the largest destination country for Ukrainian migrant workers. Personal transfers constitute a vital source of finance and growth for the economies of Central Asia, for which Russia is the prime source. As a share of GDP, remittance receipts in Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic were 34 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively in 2021. Near-term projections for remittances to the region, which are expected to fall by 1.6 per cent in 2022, are highly uncertain, dependent on the scale of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on outbound payments from Russia. By contrast, remittance flows to Ukraine are expected to increase by over 20 per cent in 2022. The average cost of sending $200 to the region fell to 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 from 6.4 per cent a year earlier.

Remittance flows toLatin America and the Caribbeansurged to $131 billion in 2021, up 25.3 per cent from 2020 due to the strong job recovery for foreign-born workers in the United States. Countries registering double-digit growth rates included Guatemala (35 per cent), Ecuador (31 per cent) Honduras (29 per cent), Mexico (25 per cent), El Salvador (26 per cent), Dominican Republic (26 per cent), Colombia (24 per cent), Haiti (21 per cent), and Nicaragua (16 per cent). Recorded flows to Mexico include funds received by transit migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and others. Remittances are important as a source of hard currency for several countries for which these flows represent at least 20 per cent of GDP, including El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, and Haiti. In 2022, remittances are estimated to grow by 9.1 per cent, though downside risks remain. The average cost of sending $200 to the region was mostly unchanged at 5.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to a year earlier.

Remittances to the developing countries of theMiddle East and North Africaregion grew by 7.6 per cent in 2021 to $61 billion, driven by robust gains into Morocco (40 per cent) and Egypt (6.4 per cent). Factors supporting the flows were economic growth in host countries in the European Union as well as transit migration which further boosted inflows to temporary host countries such as Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. In 2022, remittance flows will likely ease to a 6 per cent gain. Remittances have long made up the largest source of external resource flows for developing MENA—among ODA, FDI, and portfolio equity and debt flows—accounting for 61 per cent of total inflows in 2021. The cost of sending $200 to MENA fell to 6.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 from 6.6 per cent a year ago.

Remittances toSouth Asiagrew 6.9 per cent to $157 billion in 2021. Though large numbers of South Asian migrants returned to home countries as the pandemic broke out in early 2020, the availability of vaccines and opening of Gulf Cooperation Council economies enabled a gradual return to host countries in 2021, supporting larger remittance flows. Better economic performance in the United States was also a major contributor to the growth in 2021. Remittance flows to India and Pakistan grew by 8 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.

In 2022, growth in remittance inflows is expected to slow to 4.4 per cent. Remittances are the dominant source of foreign exchange for the region, with receipts more than three times the level of FDI in 2021. South Asia has the lowest average remittance cost of any world region at 4.3 per cent, though this is still higher than the SDG target of 3 per cent.

Source: classfmonline.com

Trending

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com