Namibia: Personal remittances, paid (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Namibia's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 40.1% on 2023 (from US$57.75 million to US$80.92 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +12.4% and a typical year strayed about 45.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 172.9% in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 52.7% in 2020. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Namibia had the 19th 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 Namibia in the 2024 ranking

• Rwanda — 16th of 29: US$100.02 million
• Guinea-Bissau — 17th of 29: US$84.68 million
• Papua New Guinea — 18th of 29: US$83.67 million
• Bhutan — 20th of 29: US$74.54 million
• Mauritania — 21st of 29: US$69.3 million
• Ethiopia — 22nd of 29: US$69.27 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 35 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 Namibia

• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 8.92% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (current US$) — US$106.2 million (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$262.77 million (2021)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$3.36 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 60.11 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$3.51 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 45.2 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 22.28% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

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

US$80.92 million in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 212.95% from US$25.86 million in 1990 (3.41% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$131.23 million in 2014 and the lowest US$7.84 million in 2001.

How does Namibia rank?

19th highest of 29 economies with data for 2024.

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

In 2024, Namibia's personal remittances, paid (current US$) rose 40.1% on 2023 (from US$57.75 million to US$80.92 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +12.4% and a typical year strayed about 45.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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.

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