Diaspora remittances hit US$2,1 billion in just 9 months

Diaspora remittances surged to US$2,1 billion in the first nine months of the year demonstrating the community’s invaluable support to local economy.

The stats were shared by the Finance and Investment Promotion Minister Thursday during the delivery of the 2026 National Budget statement.

“During the first nine months of 2025, remittances increased by 12.1% to US$2.1 billion, from US$1.9 billion recorded in the 36 corresponding period in 2024.Diaspora flows have remained strong, reflecting global economic recovery across all major regions of the world. On annual basis, diaspora remittances are projected to surpass US$2.7 billion and US$2.8 billion in 2025 and 2026, respectively,” he said.

The Treasury boss said the country’s total holdings of gold and foreign reserves increased from US$285 million in April in 2024 to about US$950 million as of end October 2025 pushing the country’s foreign reserves to represent over one month of import bill cover, estimated at an average of US$800 million per month.

“In terms of capitalisation, the banking sector was adequately capitalised with average capital adequacy and tier 1 ratios of 33.8% and 25.3%, against the prescribed minimum capital adequacy ratio of 12% and the tier 1 capital ratio of 8%, respectively.

“The aggregate banking sector core capital stood at ZiG33.1 billion as at 30 June 2025, largely attributed to capitalisation of retained earnings,” added Ncube. *_-NewZimbabwe_*