Kenya Diaspora Remittances Hit an All-Time Monthly High of $336.7 Million
Kenya Diaspora Remittances Hit an All-Time Monthly High of $336.7 Million
Kenyans abroad sent home $336.7 million (Sh36.9 billion) in July, breaking the previous monthly record of $315.8 million (Sh34 billion) set in May.
The July diaspora remittances represent a 21.6 percent growth compared to $277 million (Sh30.4 billion) received in the same month in 2020.
Cumulative inflows across 12 months to July 2021 totaled $3.4 billion (Sh372.6 billion), a 20.3 percent increase compared to $2.9 billion (Sh317.8 billion) in the same period last year.
The United States remains Kenya’s largest source of diaspora remittances, accounting for 58.3 percent of the money remitted in July.
The continued growth of diaspora inflows is a major boost to Kenya’s declining foreign exchange earnings as key sectors such as tourism continue to reel from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
Diaspora remittances have been the largest source of foreign exchange for Kenya since 2015 ahead of earnings from tea and horticulture exports, as well as tourism.
Last year, Kenya’s diaspora wired home a total of Sh334.2 billion ($3.1 billion), a 10.7 percent increase from 2019.
