In 2025, Algeria received $1.79 billion in remittances from its diaspora, as reported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in its "Sending Money Home 2026" report. This amount appears stable, but it masks a trend that contrasts with the rest of the Maghreb and African continent. Over the past decade, remittances to Algeria have decreased by 10%, while those to neighboring countries have surged.
The IFAD report, which publishes an annual global panorama of money transfers from migrants to low- or middle-income countries, confirms the growing importance of these flows in the global economy. In 2025, $728.6 billion was sent to these countries, compared to $375.6 billion in 2016, representing nearly double the amount in ten years. This amount far exceeds the combined official development aid and foreign direct investment in these countries.
With $1.799 billion received in 2025, Algeria ranks far behind its immediate neighbors. Egypt received $41.5 billion, Morocco $13.7 billion, and Tunisia $3.26 billion in the same year. However, when adjusted for the size of its economy, remittances represent a limited share of Algeria's GDP (1%) and exports of goods and services (4%), which is far from the levels observed in countries like Lebanon or Morocco.
The report highlights a positive aspect for Algerian households: the cost of sending remittances to the country via non-bank operators was only 1.3% in 2025. This is one of the lowest rates on the African continent, well below the North African regional average of 7.3% and the sustainable development goal of less than 3%.
The most notable data point in the report regarding Algeria is that remittances to the country decreased by 10% between 2016 and 2025. This trajectory is the opposite of that of all neighboring countries during the same period: Egypt saw remittances jump by 123%, Morocco by 114%, and Tunisia by 79%. The North African region, which includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, saw its flows more than double in ten years, from $28.8 billion to $60.2 billion.
As a direct consequence of this stagnation, Algeria, which was among the top five African countries receiving remittances in 2016 (with around $2 billion), no longer appears in this ranking in 2025. It has been surpassed by Ethiopia ($7.1 billion) and Kenya ($5 billion), two countries whose flows have been multiplied by more than eight and nearly four, respectively, in ten years.
The new top 5 African countries are Egypt ($41.5 billion), Nigeria ($22.8 billion), Morocco ($13.7 billion), Ethiopia ($7.1 billion), and Kenya ($5 billion), which together account for nearly three-quarters of the remittances received by the continent. This Algerian decline contrasts with the general dynamic of the continent, which received $124.2 billion in 2025, up 86% over ten years, driven in particular by Egypt, which has become the leading African recipient ahead of Nigeria.
Key points
- Remittances to Algeria decreased by 10% between 2016 and 2025.
- The cost of sending remittances to Algeria via non-bank operators was only 1.3% in 2025.
- Algeria is no longer among the top 5 African countries receiving remittances, having been surpassed by Ethiopia and Kenya.
