remittances_in_the_context_of_covid_19_africa_120620

Figure 10. Cash problems reported by those who depend in some way on remittances

Morocco Mauritius

Ghana Tunisia Sudan

Gambia Namibia Botswana Cabo Verde

Source: own elaboration of Afrobarometer data (2016-2018 wave) In almost all of the countries for which data is available, a majority of people who depend on remittances reports having had some form of ‘cash problem’ during the previous year. In all but four countries (Tunisia, Sudan, Morocco and Mauritius), more than 50% of those who depend on remittances also experience some form of cash problem during the year. The countries with the highest proportion were Niger (98% of people who depend on remittances), Togo (97%), Gabon (96%), Benin (94%) and Madagascar (94%). Moreover, the countries in which the largest proportion of remittance-dependent people reported having the most frequent cash problems (‘many’ problems over the past year or ‘always’ having cash problems), were Niger (72% of remittance receivers), Lesotho (69%), Guinea (63%), Burkina Faso (61%) and Togo (59%). This underlines how vital remittances could be to people in these countries, as they may be less able to address these problems without income arriving from abroad. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Niger Togo Gabon Benin Madagascar Guinea Cameroon Côte d'Ivoire Lesotho Zimbabwe Malawi Burkina Faso Senegal Mali Uganda Tanzania Zambia Sierra Leone Nigeria Mozambique Liberia eSwatini South Africa São Tomé and Príncipe At least 1 or 2 cash problems No cash problems

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