Ghana’s $7.8bn remittance boom masks a sharp fall in the UK’s share of transfers.
Ghana's recorded remittances rose to nearly $7.8 billion in 2025, but the UK's share of inflows declined sharply. Nukunya examines the Bank of Ghana figures and the questions they leave unanswered.
Bank of Ghana figures show remittance inflows rising substantially in 2025, even as the United Kingdom’s share of recorded transfers fell from 27.6% to 17.5% over comparable nine-month periods. Nukunya examines what the figures reveal — and what they cannot establish.
ACCRA — Ghana’s recorded remittance inflows rose to nearly US$7.8 billion in 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana, underscoring the growing importance of money transferred from abroad to the country’s economy.
But separate central bank figures reveal a significant change in the geographical composition of those inflows. The United Kingdom accounted for 17.5% of Ghana’s recorded remittance receipts between January and September 2025, compared with 27.6% during the corresponding period in 2024.
That represents a decline of 10.1 percentage points in the UK’s share.
The figures raise an important question for Ghana’s diaspora economy: is the UK becoming less important as a source of remittances, or are transfers from other countries growing more rapidly?
The available official figures establish a decline in the UK’s relative share. They do not, on their own, demonstrate that the actual amount of money transferred from Britain to Ghana decreased.
Ghana’s remittance boom: why the UK’s share is falling
Ghana’s recorded remittances rose sharply in 2025, but the United Kingdom accounted for a smaller share of inflows. The figures tell two different stories.
Ghana’s remittance inflows rose substantially in 2025
Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama disclosed the annual figures during a diaspora investment roundtable in the United States on 19 April 2026.
According to his published remarks, Ghana recorded approximately $4.6 billion in remittances in 2024, rising to nearly $7.8 billion by the end of 2025.
Annual recorded remittances
US dollars, billions. Values are approximate.
Nukunya calculation: (7.8 − 4.6) ÷ 4.6 × 100 ≈ 69.6%. This is an indicative growth rate, not an exact audited rate.
The increase highlights Ghana’s recorded financial connections with people and institutions abroad. Remittances can support household expenditure, education, healthcare, housing and business activities, while also providing foreign exchange.
However, the aggregate total does not show how recipient households used the money or how much financed productive investment. Those questions require additional evidence.
Why the UK’s share of remittances matters
The United Kingdom is an important centre of Ghanaian migration and diaspora activity. In a speech delivered in Accra on 6 January 2026, Governor Asiama identified the UK as a major remittance corridor.
He disclosed that the UK’s share of recorded remittance receipts had declined between January–September 2024 and the corresponding period in 2025.
UK share of Ghana’s recorded remittance inflows
Comparable January–September periods; percentage of recorded national inflows.
This is not evidence of a 36.6% decline in the monetary value of transfers from the UK. A country’s share can fall while the value of its transfers rises, if total inflows increase more quickly.
Does this mean Ghanaians in Britain are sending less money?
Not necessarily. To establish whether the actual value of UK-origin remittances declined, analysts would need comparable national totals for January–September 2024 and January–September 2025.
Those nine-month totals would need to be multiplied by the corresponding UK shares. The full-year national totals cannot be substituted because the reporting periods differ.
There is also a distinction between the recorded country of origin of a transfer and the nationality of the person sending it. UK-origin transfers cannot automatically be attributed entirely to Ghanaian citizens or people of Ghanaian heritage.
Payment channels, intermediaries and changes in reporting practices may also affect the recorded geographical distribution.
Interactive analysis: how can a share fall while a value rises?
The following calculator uses hypothetical nine-month national totals to demonstrate why changes in market share cannot, on their own, establish changes in monetary value.
Explore the UK’s reported shares
Important: These are hypothetical inputs, not actual Bank of Ghana nine-month national totals. The calculator must not be cited as evidence of actual UK remittance values.
The United States remains Ghana’s largest remittance source
The Bank of Ghana governor identified the United States as Ghana’s single largest remittance source in his April 2026 remarks.
However, the cited speech did not provide a complete country-by-country breakdown sufficient to rank every corridor by value or calculate the precise gap between US and UK inflows.
More detailed corridor data would help establish whether the UK’s declining share reflects faster growth elsewhere or changes in reporting coverage.
Ghana wants diaspora money to support long-term investment
The central bank is exploring ways to expand the economic role of remittances beyond immediate household transfers.
Governor Asiama has discussed potential instruments including diaspora bonds, collective investment schemes, foreign-currency-denominated products and partnerships with regulated financial institutions.
These proposals could connect diaspora savings with small businesses, housing, agriculture and infrastructure.
But a policy proposal is not an investment product already available to the public. The statements do not, by themselves, confirm that a particular diaspora bond has been issued or that its terms and investor protections have been approved.
The investment question: who carries the risk?
Supporting relatives and purchasing an investment product are different financial decisions. Investors may face exchange-rate movements, default risk, limited liquidity, fees, taxation and regulatory uncertainty.
Foreign-currency-denominated instruments can address some currency mismatches but cannot eliminate all risks.
Clear disclosure, credible oversight and effective dispute resolution will be essential if Ghana seeks to attract voluntary long-term diaspora investment.
Why remittances matter to Ghana’s wider economy
Remittances support household finances and provide foreign exchange. Their effects can extend to local businesses and services through spending on food, accommodation, education, healthcare and other needs.
Not every dollar received becomes new domestic investment. Some transfers finance imports, repay debts or meet immediate consumption needs.
Equally, household spending should not be dismissed as economically unproductive. Education, healthcare and essential living costs can support wellbeing and longer-term human development.
A balanced diaspora policy should recognise both the importance of family remittances and the potential role of voluntary investment.
What Ghana needs to disclose next
Comparable monetary values of UK-origin remittances for January–September 2024 and 2025.
A fuller country-by-country breakdown, including the US and other major corridors.
Evidence separating underlying transaction growth from changes in reporting coverage or payment channels.
Information showing whether proposed investment products attract additional capital or redirect existing household support.
Consistently reported corridor-level data would help researchers, policymakers and the public assess changes more accurately.
A growing remittance economy with an unanswered UK question
Ghana’s reported remittance growth is substantial. The Bank of Ghana’s rounded annual figures suggest an increase of nearly 70% between 2024 and 2025.
At the same time, the UK’s share fell by 10.1 percentage points over comparable nine-month periods.
These findings are not contradictory. A growing overall market can coincide with a falling share for one country.
What remains unknown from the disclosed percentages is whether the actual value of transfers from Britain increased or decreased.
The central bank’s diaspora investment proposals also raise a question of how to attract longer-term capital while protecting people who already provide essential financial support to families.
The evidence establishes reported remittance growth and a changing geographical distribution. Explaining both developments requires more detailed, consistently reported data.
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