Kenyans outside US, Europe lift October remittances to record Sh56bn
Remittances from Kenyans living and working abroad have averaged $3.56 billion in the last five years, growing by four percent last year to hit $4.19 billion, according CBK data.
Kenyans living and working abroad sent home $437.2 million (Sh56.2 billion) in October, marking a new record in a single month, fueled by residents outside US and Europe.
Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows the diaspora remittances rose from $418.5 million (Sh53.7 billion) recorded in the previous month.
This has set a new record, overtaking the previous record of $427.2 million (Sh55.3 billion) that had been set in August this year.
The October figure means daily remittances were averaging Sh1.81 billion daily. This has sent the cumulative 10-month remittances to $4.08 billion (Sh527.92 billion), being a 17.7 percent growth from $3.46 billion (448.38 billion) that was received in a similar period last year.
Remittances from the rest of the world, which captures countries in Asia like Saudi Arabia, United Arabs Emirates and India as well as those in Australia and Africa such as South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania, rose by 12.6 percent or Sh1.7 billion to $117.88 million (Sh15.3 billion).
Kenyans living in the North America region, which includes countries such as Canada, United States of America and Mexico, added to the record-breaking performance with their remittances growing by 1.9 percent to $247.9 million (Sh32.1 billion). This makes up 56.7 percent of all the October remittances.
The 17.7 percent rise in remittances in the 10 months raises prospects of the growth pace being above the 16 percent growth that the CBK projects for the full year.
CBK has revised the projections thrice this year. It had projected a five percent growth, then raised to 12 percent and then 16 percent, buoyed by the growth that the remittances have been posting.
CBK conducts a survey on remittance inflows every month through formal channels that include commercial banks and other authorised international remittances service providers in Kenya.
The US has the highest number of Kenyan migrants (157,000) followed by the United Kingdom (139,000), according to the dataset of International Migrant Stock 2020 by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The increased receipts from North America and the rest of the world came at a time when those from Europe rose marginally to $71.36 million (Sh9.24 billion) from $70.48 million (Sh9.12 billion).
Since 2015, diaspora remittances have been the largest source of foreign cash flows into Kenya, surpassing tourism, foreign direct investments, and key agricultural exports such as horticulture and tea.
Remittances from Kenyans living and working abroad have averaged $3.56 billion (Sh461 billion) in the last five years, growing by four percent last year to hit $4.19 billion (Sh542.6 billion), according CBK data.
Currently, Kenya tops in diaspora remittances in the eastern African region and the amount the country receives constitutes the single largest source of foreign currency ahead of major crops and tourism.
