Xinhua

Zimbabwe received 635 million U.S. dollars in diaspora remittances in 2019, up 2.6 percent from 619 million dollars in 2018, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya said on Monday.

International remittances received through normal banking channels on behalf of international organizations amounted to 521 million dollars in 2019, down 9 percent from the previous year’s 570 million dollars, he said.

Zimbabwe is facing severe foreign currency shortages that have curtailed imports of essential commodities like fuel and electricity, contributing to an economic decline.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 6.5 percent in 2019.