Botswana: Personal remittances, received (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Botswana's personal remittances, received (% of GDP) rose 0.16 percentage points on 2024 (from 0.67% to 0.83%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.36 percentage points in 1976 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.52 percentage points in 1978. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.06 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 70% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Botswana had the 85th highest value of the 130 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Botswana in the 2025 ranking

• Estonia — 81st of 130: 1.14%
• Antigua and Barbuda — 82nd of 130: 0.94%
• Poland — 83rd of 130: 0.91%
• Costa Rica — 85th of 130: 0.82%
• Sweden — 86th of 130: 0.81%
• Portugal — 87th of 130: 0.78%

What this measures

Personal remittances comprise personal transfers and compensation of employees. Personal transfers consist of all current transfers in cash or in kind made or received by resident households to or from nonresident households. Personal transfers thus include all current transfers between resident and nonresident individuals. Compensation of employees refers to the income of border, seasonal, and other short-term workers who are employed in an economy where they are not resident and of residents employed by nonresident entities. Data are the sum of two items defined in the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual: personal transfers and compensation of employees.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 51 values

Personal remittances, received (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.04% (2025)
• Benin — 1.72% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 2.57% (2024)
• Burundi — 8.12% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 11.67% (2025)
• Cameroon — 1.29% (2024)
• Comoros — 20.84% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 3.65% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 0.3% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 2.03% (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Botswana

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$6.27 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 84.72 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 31.48% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$9.12 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 123.17 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 45.77% (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$15.4 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 207.88 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Botswana's personal remittances, received (% of GDP)?

0.83% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is down 11.32 percentage points from 12.15% in 1975. The highest value was 16.51% in 1976 and the lowest 0.13% in 2012.

How does Botswana rank?

85th highest of 130 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, received (% of GDP) unusual for Botswana?

In 2025, Botswana's personal remittances, received (% of GDP) rose 0.16 percentage points on 2024 (from 0.67% to 0.83%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); IMF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Bank GDP estimates, World Bank (WB); OECD GDP estimates, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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