New Study Highlighting Remittances in Angola Calls for Measures to Enhance Their Development Impact
With remittances crucial to family welfare and food security in
Angola, a new IOM study argues the need to do more to build links
with the Angolan diaspora and to lower remittance costs in order to
maximize the developmental impact of remittances in the country.
The study, "Migrant Remittance Flows to Angola from Portugal and
South Africa, and their Current Use and Impact on Receiving
Households", released today in the Angolan capital, Luanda, also
calls for continued efforts to facilitate investment in the
Southern African country.
Document
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target="_blank" title="">A Study of Migrant Remittance Flows to
Angola from Portugal and South Africa, and their Current Use and
Impact on Receiving Households
Interviews with 404 remittance-receiving family heads in Angola and
423 remittance-sending migrants in Portugal and South Africa
revealed that only 14 per cent of respondents used a portion of
remittances for business purposes and even fewer, one percent, for
investment in agricultural activities.
Most respondents, 67 per cent, said remittances were used to
meet basic household necessities, pay for utilities and buy
consumables, while 16 per cent of households were completely
reliant on remittances for income.
Although levels of monthly income, housing conditions and asset
accumulation indicated that remittance-receiving households were
not extremely poor or vulnerable, the report found that,
nevertheless, remittances have improved food security for the
majority of households and educational opportunities for some.
The study also looked at how Angolan migrants sent money home
from Portugal and South Africa. While reliability was the most
important characteristic influencing whether migrants chose
remittance companies or hand-held delivery direct to homes, those
interviewed in the two destination countries rarely used bank
products to remit. Costs to do so averaged about 10 per cent of the
amount transferred.
As a result, the study recommends the need to find ways to lower
the cost of remitting by expanding and increasing competition among
cross-border remittance services and by harmonizing
remittance-related regulations.
The longstanding relationship established between Angola and
Portugal during Portugal's colonial period, migration dynamics
within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the
consequences of the armed conflict in Angola, have promoted Angolan
migration flows to Portugal and South Africa. An estimated
33,000 Angolans are living in Portugal and at least several hundred
thousands living in South Africa, with the most intensive migration
occurring in the 1990s.
Angolan migrants across the world sent home an estimated USD 969
million in 2007, representing two per cent of GDP. Given the
country ranks 143rd out of 182 countries in human development after
years of civil war and 40 per cent of the population living below
the poverty line, remittances clearly are an important source of
revenue for the country.
"The report clearly highlights the importance of remittances
among Angolan households. But it also shows that the Angolan
diaspora can contribute significantly to development and investment
in the country, and not just to family income," says Katharina
Schnöring, IOM Angola's Chief of Mission.
The study was commissioned by IOM in collaboration with the
Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX)/ Institute Providing
Support to Angolan Communities Abroad (IAECAE) and the NGO partner
Development Workshop.
For more information, please contact:
Katharina Schnöring
Tel: 00244 924 643 032
E-mail:
"mailto:kschn%C3%B6ring@iom.int">kschnöring@iom.int