Kenyans in the diaspora remitted a cumulative 274.37 billion shillings in 2018 which was a 39 percent increase from 2017’s 198.07 billion shillings according to the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) weekly bulletin.
In the month of December alone, according to the bulletin, Kenyans in the diaspora remitted 244 million dollars, which is an equivalent of 24.82 billion shillings.
December’s foreign inflow increased by 10.75 percent from November’s which stood at 22.41 billion shillings.
“North America, Europe and the rest of the world accounted for 45 percent, 32 percent, and 23 percent, respectively, of the total remittances in December 2018,” the bulletin stated.
In 2018, unlike other years, the diaspora remittance was highest in June at 27.11billion shillings while May was at 25.81billion shillings high according to day contained in the CBK weekly bulletin.
The bulletin also shows September recorded the lowest remits last year as Kenyans living in the diaspora sent home 20.89 billion shillings.
The growth has been attributed to a better global economic outlook and the tax amnesty on remittance enacted by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in 2018