Given recent events, a reader suggested that I look into the amount of “remittances” sent to east African nations in recent years.
This is the money sent home from a nation’s diaspora and it represents a surprisingly large amount of their economies. The World Bank keeps track of such things.
Somalia, for example, ranks as the 8th poorest nation on earth, with a per capita GDP figure below $2,000 per year.
In 2021, Somalia received over $2 billion in overseas remittances, a 30 percent increase over the previous year. In 2021, that $2 billion inflow represented 22.4 percent (almost one quarter) of Somalia’s entire economy. Inflows have continued above $2 billion annually since.
The CIA FactBook provides slightly lower numbers for Somalia than those shown by the World Bank. By share of economy, Somalia ranks among the top 20 in the world.
Ranking above Somalia on the list are four Central American countries: Nicaragua (#5), Honduras (#7), El Salvador (#8), and Guatemala (#13). For these nations, remittances represent 19 to 26 percent of their economies.
Worldwide, the largest source of remittance money is the United States.
