Figures released by the central bank showed that remittances had increased significantly from the US$198.2 million recorded in 2009.
“The growth rates primarily reflected the market’s confidence in the formal channel of remitting free funds,” the central bank said in a recent economic update.
“In the outlook, the sector is poised to grow in 2011 due to the broadening of the Bureau De Change operating framework.”
Millions of Zimbabweans now live in neighbouring Botswana and South Africa while others have settled in Europe and the United States. Most left the country over the last decade to escape a biting economic crisis characterized by the country’s world record inflation and high unemployment.
The vast majority Zimbabwean expatriates send money back home to support their families.