Remittances to Ghana drop by 16.9% - BoG

Abu Mubarik 14:46 - 16 March 2016

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Bank of Ghana figures showed cash remittances from overseas Ghanaians dropped 16.9 percent to 1.92 billion dollars.

Money sent home by Ghanaians abroad continued to post steady decline as slow growth in industrialised economies continues.

The remittance was mostly from the United States of America and Canada, United Kingdom, the European Union enclave, ECOWAS and other African countries.

The USA and Canada were the biggest senders, remitting about $1.1billion in 2015.

Remittances remain a key source of external resource flows for developing countries, far exceeding official development assistance and more stable than private debt and portfolio equity flows, according to the World Bank.

The United States was the largest remittance source country, with an estimated $56 billion in outward flows in 2014, followed by Saudi Arabia ($37 billion), and Russia ($33 billion), the World Bank said.

India was the largest remittance receiving country, with an estimated $72 billion in 2015, followed by China ($64 billion), and the Philippines ($30 billion), according to the World Bank.