15
HARNESSING DIASPORA RESOURCES FOR AFRICA
TABLE 1
The Potential for Diaspora Savings in African Countries, 2009
Morocco Egypt, Arab Rep. Algeria South Africa Nigeria Tunisia Ghana Ethiopia Kenya Somalia Zimbabwe Sudan Congo, Dem. Rep. Senegal Angola Cameroon Uganda Mauritius Liberia Côte d’Ivoire Others Total Memo North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
Emigrant stock (millions)
Potential migrants’ savings (US$ billions)
Potential migrants’ savings (% of GDP)
3.0 3.7 1.2 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.8 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.1 0.4 1.2 10.2 30.5
9.6 6.0 4.2 3.8 3.5 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.3 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 7.1 52.7
10.5 3.2 3.0 1.3 2.0 5.1 7.5 6.5 6.1 — 34.4 2.3 10.5 7.0 1.1 3.8 4.0 7.2 66.8 2.6 2.5 3.6
8.7 21.8
22.3 30.4
4.3 3.2
Source: Ratha and Mohapatra 2011. Note: — = not available.
smaller concern over currency devaluation (where they hold local currency liabilities), can make them an attractive target for the so-called diaspora bonds issued by public or private sector entities. Chapter 4 discusses the rationale and potential for issuing diaspora bonds as instruments for raising external development finance, mostly drawing on the experiences of India and Israel. The Government of Israel has nurtured this asset class since 1951 by offering a flexible menu of investment options to keep members of the Jewish diaspora engaged. Indian authorities, in contrast, have used this instrument opportunistically to raise financing during times when they had difficulty accessing international capital markets (for example, in the aftermath of their nuclear testing in 1998).