Nigerians in diaspora sent $22 billion home in 2017 - World Bank- In 2017, Nigerians abroad broke an African record and wired $22 billion back home - In that same year, officially recorded remittances to low and middle-income countries reached $466 billion - The World Bank has called on countries to take steps to simplify the process; including introducing more efficient technology, in order to reduce cost The World Bank has disclosed that Nigerians in diaspora wired $22 billion home in 2017, the fifth largest remittance by immigrants, and an African record, The Cable reports. The global bank stated that the costs of transferring funds also increased as payments from immigrants back to their home countries rebounded to reach a new record in 2017. READ ALSO: OBJ comments: Oyinlola must apologise to me immediately - Bode George Legit.ng gathers that the World Bank pointed out that the increase in remittances was driven by growth in Europe, Russia and the United States. In 2017, officially recorded remittances to low and middle-income countries reached $466 billion, an increase of 8.5 percent over $429 billion in 2016, the bank disclosed. The level of remittances is also expected to increase by about four percent in 2018. The top recipients of these remittances were India with $69 billion, followed by China with $64 billion, the Philippines with $33 billion and Mexico with $31 billion. Nigeria and Egypt followed afterwards. The lead author of the report, Dilip Ratha stated: “While remittances are growing, countries, institutions, and development agencies must continue to chip away at high costs of remitting so that families receive more of the money." In order to reduce costs, the bank called on countries to take steps to simplify the process; including introducing more efficient technology. On a region-by-region basis, the biggest growth for 2017 was recorded in Europe and Central Asia; with Sub-Saharan Africa rising by 11 percent. The biggest inflow was seen in East Asia and the Pacific, which took in $130 billion. South Asia took in $117 billion and Latin America recorded remittances of $80 billion. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that an international agency's report said that Nigerians in diaspora remitted $18.97 billion (N5.97 trillion) in 2016. In its report titled "Sending Money Home: Contributing to the SDGs, One Family at a Time", the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said the money were those sent to Nigeria by migrant workers. The agency said the figure indicated a 5.2% growth in the previous nine years. Which country would you leave Nigeria for? - on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit.ng - In 2017, Nigerians abroad broke an African record and wired $22 billion back home - In that same year, officially recorded remittances to low and middle-income countries reached $466 billion - The World Bank has called on countries to take steps to simplify the process; including introducing more efficient technology, in order to reduce cost READ ALSO: Legit.ng PAY ATTENTION: Legit.ng