Remittances from Botswana to Zimbabwe were officially recorded as totalling US$ 39,561,360 in 2022. This claim is contained in the 2023 Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) presented earlier this month by the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), John Panonetsa Mangudya.
Official figures from the Policy statement show that South Africa and Botswana topped the list of African countries which accounted for the bulk of remittances to Zimbabwe last year, reaching US$583,375,863 and US$ 39,561,360 respectively.
Zimbabwe’s National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) performed a national census in April 2022, and it revealed that Botswana is home to the second-largest population of Zimbabwean emigrants, after South Africa with a total of 47 928 Zimbabweans. “The data indicates that the most emigrants from Zimbabwe were based in the Southern African region and in particular South Africa with 773,246 and Botswana with 47,928,” states the research.
Out of the 47 928 Zimbabweans living in Botswana, the survey shows that 28, 680 are men and 19, 248 are women. The majority of remittances, according to the central bank, were sent through banking and money transmission agencies. Transfers made by diaspora populations and foreign organisations make up the majority of international remittances.
Given the diversity of contexts in source and receiving countries, the World Bank warns that more localised research is needed to understand the nature and development policy implications of these flows.
