Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has confirmed that Zimbabwe acquired practically US$780 million from the UK within the first quarter of 2025, barely greater than the US$748 million that got here from South Africa.
These funds – referred to as remittances – are the cash individuals dwelling overseas ship again to their households in Zimbabwe.
They’ve grow to be an important lifeline for a lot of Zimbabwean households, serving to households pay for meals, faculty charges, and medical care, whereas additionally supporting the nation’s economic system.
Zimbabwe’s complete remittances have grown sharply in recent times, growing by virtually 195% – from US$922 million in 2019 to US$2.58 billion in 2024. Officers count on this determine to rise once more in 2025.
“The construction of our diaspora has developed considerably,” famous Ncube.
“Whereas South Africa stays residence to the vast majority of Zimbabweans overseas, larger earnings and formal employment in the UK are actually translating into bigger remittance flows.”
Zimbabwe’s altering migration traits.
Many Zimbabweans – together with healthcare staff, lecturers, and expert professionals – have moved to the UK and different international locations in the hunt for higher alternatives and secure incomes.
Whereas round 80% of Zimbabwe’s diaspora nonetheless lives in South Africa, South Africa’s share of complete remittances has fallen from 38% in 2021 to 27.5% in 2025. In the meantime, the UK’s share has climbed from 24.7% to twenty-eight.6% over the identical interval.
Different notable contributors embrace america (11.2%), Australia (5.5%), Canada (2.1%), and Botswana (2.0%).
On a broader scale, these funds are serving to to take care of spending energy inside communities, help small companies, and inject much-needed money into native markets.
Analysts word that remittances additionally play an necessary function in strengthening Zimbabwe’s international forex reserves, easing stress on the trade charge, and offering some stability to a fragile monetary system.
In a rustic the place unemployment and inflation stay excessive, these inflows have grow to be a necessary buffer – sustaining each family welfare and the broader economic system.
