Egypt Received 28% of Africa's Reported Remittances in 2024

Remittances are one of Africa's most important financial connections with the rest of the world. Millions of Africans living abroad send money home to support families, pay for education and healthcare, invest in property and household expenses.

But the distribution of these flows across the continent is far from even.

Data from the World Bank's World Development Indicators show that Egypt was the largest recipient among the African countries represented in the 2024 reporting dataset, receiving approximately $29.6 billion in personal remittances. The visualized dataset covers 40 African countries that reported a 2024 figure, meaning the $104.4 billion total should be interpreted asomplete estimate for all 54 African countries.

Remittances to African Countries in 2024

Egypt dominates Africa's remittance inflows

Egypt's $29.6 billion represents approximately 28% of the $104.4 billion recorded across the 40 reporting countries.

Nigeria followed with roughly $22 billion, while Morocco received about $12.5 billion. Ethiopia and Kenya completed the top five, with approximately $7.1 billion and $5 billion respectively.

Together, these five countries represented about 73% of the reported total.

Remittances are more important than the dollar figures suggest

The absolute value of remittances is only one way to measure their economic importance.

When remittances are compared with GDP, their significance becomes even clearer. World Bank data show that remittances were equivalent to approximately 8.4% of Nigeria's GDP in 2024, 7.6% of Egypt's GDP, 7.8% of Morocco's GDP, 4.8% of Ethiopia's GDP and 4.2% of Kenya's GDP.

This means remittances are not simply additional household income. For several African economies, they represent a meaningful source of foreign exchange and external financing.

For households, their importance can be even more direct because the money usually goes straight to individuals and families rather than passing through government budgets or large development programmes.

The cost of sending money remains a major challenge

There is another side to Africa's remittance story: the cost of transferring money.

The World Bank reported that sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa cost an average of 7.9% in 2023. By the second quarter of 2024, the average total cost had risen to 8.37%, making Sub-Saharan Africa the most expensive receiving region recorded in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide database at that time.

High transfer costs reduce the amount ultimately received by families.

For example, every percentage point reduction in transaction costs means more of a migrant worker's money reaches the intended recipient instead of being absorbed by fees and exchange-rate margins.

This makes digital payments, mobile money interoperability, greater competition among money-transfer providers and more transparent foreign-exchange pricing important parts of the broader remittance conversation.

Africa's remittance numbers also have a data limitation

One important caveat should not be overlooked.

The visual's $104.4 billion figure is based on 40 African countries reporting 2024 data. Fourteen countries did not have a 2024 figure in the dataset used for the visual.

Consequently, the figure should not be interpreted as the definitive value of every remittance dollar sent to Africa in 2024. There is also the issue of informal transfers. Official statistics are designed to capture recorded financial flows, while some money can move through informal channels and therefore remain outside official datasets.

The World Bank itself notes that remittance statistics do not capture the full universe of informal flows.

What the numbers really tell us

The most important takeaway is not simply that Egypt received $29.6 billion.

It is that Africa's remittance economy is highly concentrated.

Five countries account for roughly three-quarters of the reported flows, while the economic importance of those flows varies significantly depending on the size of each country's economy.

For policymakers, this creates two opportunities.

The first is to make formal remittance channels cheaper and more accessible. The second is to find ways of converting a larger share of diaspora income into productive savings and investment without undermining its primary role as household support.

Africa's diaspora is therefore more than a source of money sent home. It is a significant financial network connecting African households and economies to global labour markets.

The challenge is ensuring that more of every dollar sent home reaches its intended recipient and that the financial system makes it easier for those funds to support long-term economic opportunity.

Data source: World Bank World Development Indicators, Personal remittances, received (current US$).