This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
Kenya's diaspora remittances saw a significant rebound in May 2020, with inflows reaching Ksh27.369 billion (USD 258.2 million), a 24% growth from the Ksh22.069 billion (USD 208.2 million) recorded in April.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya's (CBK) weekly bulletin for the week ending May 2020, the cumulative diaspora remittances in the 12 months to May totalled Ksh298.777 billion (USD 2,816 million), a 2.8% growth from the Ksh290.334 billion (USD 2,739 million) in the 12 months to May 2019.
The highest increases in inflows came from the United States and South Africa, while other significant increases were realized from Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Australia, and Switzerland.
The rebound in diaspora remittances in May 2020 is a positive indicator, as it brings the inflows back to levels witnessed in December 2019 and January 2020. The World Bank had projected a sharp decline in global remittances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 20% decline expected in 2020.
However, the decline in remittances to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is projected to be 19.7% to $445 billion, while remittance flows to the region are expected to decline by 23.1% to reach $37 billion in 2020.
