Ethiopia: Personal remittances, paid (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Ethiopia's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 47% on 2023 (from US$47.12 million to US$69.27 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +43.7% and a typical year strayed about 110.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 382.9% in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 62% 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 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$4.05 million a year. A straight line explains 42% 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 2024, Ethiopia had the 22nd highest value of the 29 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 Ethiopia in the 2024 ranking

• Namibia — 19th of 29: US$80.92 million
• Bhutan — 20th of 29: US$74.54 million
• Mauritania — 21st of 29: US$69.3 million
• Solomon Islands — 23rd of 29: US$51.78 million
• Zimbabwe — 24th of 29: US$43.76 million
• Naoero — 25th of 29: US$26.18 million

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. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Remittance transactions have grown in importance over the past decade. In a number of developing economies, receipts of remittances have become an important and stable source of funds that exceeds receipts from exports of goods and services or from financial inflows on foreign direct investment. But the quality of statistical remittance data is not high. Remittances are a challenge to measure because of their nature. They are heterogeneous with numerous small transactions conducted by individuals through a wide variety of channels: formal channels, such as electronic wire, or through informal channels, such as cash or goods carried across borders.

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

All 48 values

Personal remittances, paid (current US$) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$419.62 million (2025)
• Benin — US$108.16 million (2023)
• Botswana — US$235.63 million (2025)
• Burkina Faso — US$203.04 million (2024)
• Burundi — US$22.36 million (2025)
• Cabo Verde — US$36.61 million (2025)
• Cameroon — US$101.29 million (2024)
• Comoros — US$5.8 million (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$1.46 billion (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — US$78.32 million (2021)

More economic policy & debt data for Ethiopia

• GDP (current US$) — US$126.36 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 15.09 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$932.73 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 111,421 (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$126.14 billion (2025)
• GNI (current LCU) — 15.07 trillion (2025)
• GNI per capita (current LCU) — 111,231 (2025)
• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$3.78 billion (2024)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$3.78 billion (2024)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$128.07 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Ethiopia's personal remittances, paid (current US$)?

US$69.27 million in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 2,768% from US$2.42 million in 1977 (7.4% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$69.27 million in 2024 and the lowest US$243,604 in 1995.

How does Ethiopia rank?

22nd highest of 29 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, paid (current US$) unusual for Ethiopia?

In 2024, Ethiopia's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 47% on 2023 (from US$47.12 million to US$69.27 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +43.7% and a typical year strayed about 110.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 BM.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IMF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.