FACTBOX: Facts on Africans abroad

(Reuters) - As African nations shake off war, adopt better governance and cash in on a commodities boom, former refugees and members of the wider diaspora are coming back to build businesses, drawn by patriotism and the opportunities presented by a fast-growing region.

In Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Ethiopia and elsewhere, these returning Africans are using skills acquired abroad and local knowledge to prosper.

Here are some facts on Africans abroad:

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* In 2006, remittance flows are estimated to have exceeded $276 billion worldwide, $206 billion of which went to developing countries.

* Remittances from Africans working abroad from 2000-2003 averaged about $17 billion a year, overtaking foreign direct investment flows which totaled $15 billion in the same period.

* The economic impact of remittances is huge. Data from 74 low- and middle-income countries shows that a 10 percent increase in the share of international remittances in a country's gross domestic product leads to a 1.6 percent decline in the share of people living in poverty.

* Available data suggests that migration continues to rise with income levels, until an income threshold is reached. Above this threshold, the domestic economy begins to offer people opportunities at home and migration begins to taper off.

* The International Organisation of Migration estimates that some 20,000 skilled professionals -- doctors, nurses, engineers, accountants, managers, teachers -- leave Africa each year.