Ghana places 11th in remittances to Africa, Coronavirus to affect inflows

Ghana was ranked 11th in terms of remittances to Africa in 2019, according to the World Bank.

The country registered remittances of about 5% of Gross Domestic Product last year.

The nation trailed Nigeria in 10th position and Togo in 7th position.

Comoros, Lesotho, The Gambia (13.2% of GDP) and Liberia (12.0% of GDP) were 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, respectively.

In 2018, Ghana’s remittances of US$3.8 billion, about 7.3% of GDP, placed the country 9th in Africa.

Remittances to Ghana largely come from the USA, Canada and Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain).

But the recent coronavirus pandemic means remittances will slip between 5 and 15% in 2020.

Ghana bagged US$3.8 billion in remittances in 2018, but a little lower in 2019.

The World Bank said nearly one-third of African countries are vulnerable to a decline in remittances.

For instance, workers’ remittances to Nigeria, one of the top five recipients in the world, amounted to 5.7% of GDP, mostly coming from the United States, Europe, Cameroon, the United Arab Emirates, and China.

Other West African countries that are large recipients of remittances in terms of GDP are Senegal (9.9%) and Togo (9.1%).

Also, a significant downturn in South Africa’s economy will affect the flow of financing to remittance-dependent countries like Lesotho (15.7% of GDP) and Zimbabwe (8% of GDP).

Source: classfmonline