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By The African Exponent
5 Key Facts
Egypt is Africa’s top remittance destination by a wide margin. Egypt received $41.5 billion in 2025, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), almost twice Nigeria’s $22.8 billion.
Egypt alone received more than ranks 3 to 10 combined. Egypt’s $41.5 billion beats the $39.8 billion received by Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo put together.
The top five take almost three quarters of Africa’s total. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Ethiopia and Kenya together received $90.1 billion in 2025, which is 72.5 percent of Africa’s $124.2 billion total.
South Africa, Africa’s largest economy, does not make the top ten. South Africa is conspicuously absent from this ranking. Its diaspora is smaller relative to its economy, and its remittance inflows fall below the $1.9 billion cutoff for tenth place.
These figures are the latest available for each country, not a single-year snapshot. Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco are 2025 figures. Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are 2024 figures from the World Bank. Senegal is a 2024 estimate. The table states the year for every row, and the Methodology explains why the years differ.
The big picture: Africa’s diaspora sent home about $124.2 billion in 2025, up 86 percent in a decade, according to IFAD. That money is now one of the continent’s largest sources of foreign currency, larger than most aid flows and close to foreign direct investment. But it is heavily concentrated. The top ten countries in this ranking received $104.1 billion, which is 83.8 percent of the continental total. The other 44 African countries shared the remaining $20.1 billion between them. Egypt’s surge is the story of this ranking. A currency reform in 2024 pushed Egyptian workers abroad back into official banking channels, and monthly inflows have stayed above $3 billion since then. Nigeria remains second, but the gap to Egypt has widened from a close race to a $18.7 billion lead.
Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place in the table. Senegal’s unrounded estimate is $2.94 billion and Ghana’s is $2.89 billion, so Senegal ranks seventh by about $0.05 billion. That gap is small enough that the two should be read as close, not as a runaway lead. Zimbabwe’s $3.5 billion is the World Bank’s broad personal remittances figure. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s narrower formal transfers figure was $2.15 billion in 2024 and $2.45 billion in 2025. Both are stated in Zimbabwe’s section. Egypt’s 2025 figure is a calendar year total from the Central Bank of Egypt, as reported by IFAD. It is not the same as Egypt’s fiscal year total, which was $36.5 billion in 2024/25.
Selected Details
1. Egypt: $41.5 billion, a record built on a currency reform
Egypt received $41.5 billion in remittances in calendar year 2025, a record, according to IFAD, drawing on Central Bank of Egypt data. That is almost twice Nigeria’s total and more than the next eight countries combined. Egyptians abroad sent $33.9 billion in the first ten months of 2025 alone, up from $23.7 billion in the same period of 2024. The surge followed Egypt’s March 2024 exchange rate liberalisation. Before that reform, many Egyptians abroad used informal channels because the official rate was far below the market rate. After the reform, those flows moved back into banks, so official figures jumped even though the underlying money sent home may have risen by less. Egypt is now the world’s fourth largest remittance recipient, behind only India, Mexico and the Philippines.
2. Nigeria: $22.8 billion, still second, but the gap has widened
Nigeria received $22.8 billion in 2025, according to IFAD, up about 3 percent on the year. Nigeria has Africa’s largest diaspora in absolute numbers, with large communities in the United States and the United Kingdom. For years Nigeria and Egypt traded the top spot. In 2024 the World Bank’s revised series put Nigeria at $21.8 billion, behind Egypt’s $29.6 billion. In 2025 the gap widened to $18.7 billion. That gap says more about Egypt’s formalisation surge than about any fall in Nigerian transfers, which kept growing. Nigeria’s remittances still exceed its foreign direct investment in most years, and they fund school fees, housing and small businesses across the country.
3. Morocco: $13.7 billion, Europe’s closest African corridor
Morocco received $13.7 billion in 2025, according to IFAD, up from $12.5 billion in the World Bank’s 2024 series. Morocco’s diaspora is concentrated in France, Spain and Italy, where many Moroccans have lived for generations. Remittances are one of Morocco’s steadiest sources of foreign currency, alongside tourism and phosphates. Unlike Egypt, Morocco did not need a currency reform to bring flows into official channels. Its banks have courted the diaspora for decades, with dedicated accounts, property loans and investment products for Moroccans abroad. Morocco’s total is more than double Ethiopia’s, which shows how far ahead the top three are from the rest of the ranking.
4. Ethiopia: $7.1 billion, and a warning about the data itself
Ethiopia received $7.1 billion in 2025, according to IFAD, putting it fourth and ahead of Kenya. Readers should treat Ethiopia’s rise with care. The World Bank’s series for Ethiopia was only $0.54 billion in 2023 and $7.14 billion in 2024. That jump is not thirteenfold growth in one year. It is a revision in coverage, as more Ethiopian flows were captured in official statistics. IFAD’s 2025 figure of $7.1 billion matches the revised 2024 level, which suggests the new level is real even if the year to year jump is not. Ethiopia’s diaspora is large, especially in the United States and the Gulf states, and remittances now matter more to Ethiopian households than most official aid. But no honest article can present Ethiopia’s 2024 jump as organic growth, so this section states the revision plainly.
5. Kenya: $5.0 billion, East Africa’s clear leader
Kenya received $5.0 billion in 2025, according to IFAD, essentially unchanged from the World Bank’s $5.00 billion for 2024. Kenya is East Africa’s top recipient by a wide margin. The United States is now Kenya’s largest source corridor, ahead of the United Kingdom and the Gulf states. Kenyans abroad sent more home in 2024 than Kenya earned from tea, horticulture or tourism in that year, which is why diaspora money is now a regular topic in Kenyan budget debates. Kenya’s figure is one of the most stable in this ranking. The World Bank series rises steadily from $3.11 billion in 2020 to $5.00 billion in 2024, with no sudden revision, which makes Kenya’s fifth place the most secure in the top five.
6. Zimbabwe: $3.5 billion on the broad measure, $2.45 billion on the narrow one
Zimbabwe received $3.51 billion in personal remittances in 2024, according to the World Bank, which puts it sixth in this ranking. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe reports a lower figure, because it counts formal diaspora transfers only. That figure was $2.15 billion in 2024 and $2.45 billion in 2025. The gap between the two measures is normal. The World Bank’s personal remittances measure also includes compensation of employees and other personal transfers, while the central bank counts money sent through formal transfer channels. On either measure Zimbabwe ranks sixth, because the next country, Senegal, is below both figures on its own comparable basis. Zimbabwe’s diaspora is estimated at about 4 million people, with the United Kingdom contributing 28.6 percent of inflows and South Africa 27.5 percent. Remittances now account for about 15 percent of Zimbabwe’s foreign currency receipts.
7. Senegal: $2.9 billion, West Africa’s most remittance dependent large economy
Senegal received about $2.94 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank’s KNOMAD estimates as reported by Business Insider Africa, which puts it seventh. The World Bank’s database has no 2024 value for Senegal, so this row uses the KNOMAD estimate, and its 2023 World Bank value of $3.04 billion supports the same scale. Senegal’s lead over Ghana is only about $0.05 billion, so the seventh and eighth places should be read as close. What sets Senegal apart is dependence, not just volume. Remittances are about 10 percent of Senegal’s GDP, and IFAD notes that 73 percent of remittance receiving households in Senegal have adopted an agricultural risk management strategy, against 22 percent of households without remittances. Senegal’s government is now planning a dedicated diaspora bank to channel these flows into investment.
8. Ghana: $2.9 billion, and an old figure that no longer holds
Ghana received $2.89 billion in personal remittances in 2024, according to the World Bank’s revised series, which puts it eighth. Older press lists put Ghana at $4.6 billion, and readers may still see that figure online. That older figure comes from an earlier KNOMAD estimate that the World Bank has since revised down. The revised series for Ghana is $4.29 billion in 2020, then $1.76 billion in 2021, $1.78 billion in 2022, $2.32 billion in 2023 and $2.89 billion in 2024. The trend since 2021 is steady growth, not decline. Ghana’s diaspora is concentrated in the United States, the United Kingdom and Nigeria. Ghana also benefits from return migration and from its Year of Return programme, which has strengthened ties with the African diaspora in the Americas.
9. Tunisia: $2.8 billion, steady money from France and Italy
Tunisia received $2.79 billion in personal remittances in 2024, according to the World Bank, which puts it ninth. Tunisia’s diaspora is concentrated in France, where Tunisians have lived for generations, plus Italy and Germany. Remittances are a stabiliser for Tunisia’s economy, which has faced debt pressure and slower growth in recent years. Unlike Egypt, Tunisia has not seen a sudden formalisation surge, and unlike Ethiopia, its series has not been sharply revised. Its World Bank figures move in a narrow range, from $2.46 billion in 2023 to $2.79 billion in 2024. That steadiness is the point. For Tunisian households, remittances are regular income for food, housing and education, not a windfall.
10. Democratic Republic of Congo: $1.9 billion, the cutoff country
The Democratic Republic of Congo received $1.89 billion in personal remittances in 2024, according to the World Bank, which puts it tenth. The DRC’s diaspora is spread across France, Belgium, Angola and South Africa, and a large share of its remittances moves through informal channels, so the official figure almost certainly understates the true total. The World Bank’s own series for the DRC is volatile, falling from $3.16 billion in 2023 to $1.89 billion in 2024, which suggests a coverage change rather than a collapse in money sent home. Even on the lower figure, the DRC edges out Somalia, at about $1.73 billion in 2024, and Algeria, at $1.71 billion, for the final place in this top ten. Both of those countries are named here so readers can see how close the cutoff is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which African country receives the most remittances in 2026?
Egypt, with $41.5 billion in 2025, the latest full year figure available. That is almost twice Nigeria’s $22.8 billion and more than ranks 3 to 10 combined.
Why do the figures in this ranking come from different years?
Because countries publish remittance data at different speeds, and the World Bank has no 2024 value for some countries, including Senegal. This ranking uses the latest available figure for each country and states the year in the table, following the same approach IFAD uses in its 2026 report. No figure has been adjusted to a common year, and no older figure is presented as current.
Why is South Africa not in the top ten?
South Africa receives far less in remittances than it sends out, because it hosts large migrant communities from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho. Its inflows fall below the $1.9 billion cutoff for tenth place, and the World Bank has no recent personal remittances value for South Africa in its database. South Africa is a major remittance sender within Africa, not a top recipient.
Are remittances bigger than foreign aid or investment for Africa?
Remittances to Africa reached about $124.2 billion in 2025, according to IFAD. That is more than four times global official development assistance to low and middle income countries in that year, and it is close to Africa’s foreign direct investment total. For individual households, remittances are often more reliable than either, because they arrive monthly and go straight to families.
Which country just missed the top ten?
Somalia, at about $1.73 billion in 2024, is the closest miss, followed by Algeria at $1.71 billion in the World Bank’s 2024 series. Somalia has no World Bank value for 2024, so its figure comes from press reporting of World Bank data. Both countries fall short of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s $1.89 billion.
Data Sources
IFAD, Sending Money Home 2026 (reported September 2026): Africa total $124.2 billion in 2025; top five Egypt $41.5 billion, Nigeria $22.8 billion, Morocco $13.7 billion, Ethiopia $7.1 billion, Kenya $5.0 billion, combined $90.1 billion.
IFAD, Sending Money Home 2026 (summary): confirms Egypt $41.5 billion, Nigeria $22.8 billion, Morocco $13.7 billion, Ethiopia $7.1 billion, Kenya $5.0 billion.
World Bank, Personal remittances received (current US$), indicator BX.TRF.PWKR.CD: 2024 values Egypt $29.56 billion, Nigeria $21.81 billion, Morocco $12.51 billion, Ethiopia $7.14 billion, Kenya $5.00 billion, Zimbabwe $3.51 billion, Ghana $2.89 billion, Tunisia $2.79 billion, Democratic Republic of Congo $1.89 billion, Algeria $1.71 billion.
Business Insider Africa, 10 African countries with the highest diaspora remittances in 2024: Senegal $2.94 billion in 2024, Tunisia $2.8 billion, Democratic Republic of Congo $1.4 billion in an earlier vintage (superseded by the World Bank’s revised $1.89 billion).
ISS Africa, Remittances as development finance (August 2025): Africa $95 billion in 2024; Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco the largest recipients.
Central Bank of Egypt, via WAYA (December 2025): Egypt $33.9 billion in January to October 2025, up from $23.7 billion in the same period of 2024.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, via Zimbabwe Situation (2026): formal diaspora remittances $2.45 billion in 2025, $2.15 billion in 2024.
Methodology
This ranking uses personal remittances received, in current US dollars, as defined by the World Bank: personal transfers plus compensation of employees, received from abroad. Where a 2025 figure is available from IFAD, drawing on central bank data, it is used for Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Ethiopia and Kenya. Where no 2025 figure is available, the latest World Bank value is used, which is 2024 for Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Senegal has no World Bank value for 2024, so its row uses the KNOMAD 2024 estimate of $2.94 billion, with its 2023 World Bank value of $3.04 billion as a scale check. Somalia has no World Bank value for 2024 and is therefore not ranked, but its reported $1.73 billion is named as the closest miss.
Figures are not adjusted to a common year, and the year for every row is stated in the table, so no older figure is presented as current. Older press estimates that conflict with the revised World Bank series, including Egypt $22.7 billion and Ghana $4.6 billion for 2024, are superseded and are not used. They are named in the relevant sections so readers who find them elsewhere can see why they differ.
Zimbabwe’s central bank formal transfers figure is narrower than the World Bank measure and is disclosed in its section; on either measure Zimbabwe ranks sixth. Ethiopia’s jump in the World Bank series between 2023 and 2024 reflects a coverage revision, not organic growth, and is flagged in its section. Internal links: see also African Exponent’s rankings of largest economies in Africa, weakest currencies in Africa and the CFA franc zone by economy size.