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After peaking at $3.88B in 2019, Ghana’s FDI fell to $1.31B in 2023, a 66% drop in four years
  • FDI inflows surged from just $0.01 billion in 1990 to a record $3.88 billion in 2019, marking a 388x increase over 30 years.
  • Between 2006 and 2019, Ghana consistently attracted over $1 billion annually, with nine of those years surpassing $3 billion.
  • The highest FDI year on record was 2019, likely reflecting peak investor confidence before the pandemic.
  • Since 2021, FDI has remained below $2 billion, with 2023 recording $1.31 billion and 2024 only slightly higher at $1.67 billion.
  • Ghana’s FDI trend reflects a pattern of post-2000 acceleration, plateauing around 2012–2015, then declining sharply post-2020.

On average, Nigeria’s NBS publishes Q1 GDP reports 53 days after the quarter ends. But in 2025, it's been 86 days—and still no release
  • Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) usually releases Q1 GDP data 53 days after the quarter ends.
  • As of June 25, 2025, the Q1 2025 figures are 86 days overdue—that’s 33 days longer than average.
  • The delay coincides with a GDP rebasing exercise, updating the base year to 2019.
  • Q1 GDP reports have typically come out in May for the past eight years—until now.

Egypt accounted for nearly half of Africa’s $97 billion FDI inflow in 2024
  • Africa attracted $97 billion in FDI in 2024 — nearly double the 2023 level — marking a record year for the continent.
  • Egypt alone accounted for nearly 50% of total African inflows, driven by a $35 billion Ras El-Hekma megaproject and sweeping reforms.
  • Major gainers included Zambia (+1340%), Guinea (+105%), and Mauritania (+74%), showing momentum beyond usual hotspots.
  • Nigeria’s FDI dropped 42%, while South Africa (–29%) and Senegal (–58%) also saw steep declines.

Egypt’s $47 billion FDI haul puts it ahead of major economies in 2024
  • Global FDI rose to $1.51 trillion, still below its 2015 peak.
  • The top 10 countries accounted for 65% of total inflows.
  • Egypt ranked 8th globally with $46.6 billion, ahead of UAE and Mexico.
  • A $35 billion Ras El-Hekma deal drove much of Egypt’s surge.
  • Egypt’s FDI grew over 370%, the fastest among top recipients.

Over $3.2 billion was sent abroad from Nigeria from 2000 to 2023, with a $1 billion spike in 2015 standing out
  • Migrants living in Nigeria sent out over $3.2 billion in personal remittances between 2000 and 2023.
  • The year 2015 recorded a sharp and unusual outflow of $1.04 billion, the highest by far in the entire 24-year span.
  • After 2015, remittance outflows sharply declined, stabilising below $100 million from 2018 onward.
  • Prior to 2015, outflows were consistently under $110 million annually, indicating a major anomaly in that spike year.

Nigeria has received $430B in remittances since 2000, peaking at $24.3B in 2018
  • Nigeria received a total of approximately $430 billion in remittances between 2000 and 2023.
  • The highest amount recorded was in 2018, when remittances peaked at $24.31 billion.
  • In 2020, inflows dropped significantly to $17.21 billion due to the global COVID-19 crisis.
  • Between 2021 and 2023, remittances remained stable, averaging around $19.7 billion per year.

Burundi and Mozambique consistently rank lowest in African worker productivity since 1991
  • The same countries—Burundi, Malawi, DR Congo, Mozambique, Niger, Liberia, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Chad, and Ethiopia—consistently occupy the bottom ranks over the years.
  • These countries remain far below the continent's average, often with GDP per person employed under $5,000 even in recent years.
  • Progress is marginal: while some, like Ethiopia and Mozambique, show slow growth, many fluctuate or even regress across periods.
  • Structural economic weaknesses, conflict, and low industrialisation seem to persist across the bottom group.

Gabon has topped worker productivity in Africa for 21 of 33 years; Nigeria stays outside top 20
  • Gabon led Africa in GDP per person employed for 21 years, the most of any country, thanks largely to its oil wealth and smaller labour force.
  • Equatorial Guinea was a close second, topping the list for 12 straight years, particularly during its oil boom.
  • Libya never came first but held second place in 18 different years, showing long-term stability in productivity.
  • Algeria and Egypt frequently ranked in the top three but never led.
  • Nigeria, despite being Africa’s most populous country and once its largest economy, never made it into the top 3 and has consistently ranked around 23rd to 26th.
  • The leading countries tend to share a pattern: resource-driven economies with relatively smaller workforces, while lower-ranked ones often struggle.

Nigeria holds the third highest interest rate in Africa at 27.5%, as Zimbabwe leads with 35%
  • Zimbabwe has the highest benchmark interest rate in Africa at 35%, exceeding Ghana, the second highest, by 7% points.
  • Nigeria holds the third highest interest rate on the continent at 27.5%, just 0.5% points behind Ghana, signalling aggressive policy intervention.
  • Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Egypt have interest rates above 25%, showing a regional pattern of tight monetary conditions.
  • There is a significant drop of over 5% points between Sierra Leone at 24.75% and Angola at 19.5%, marking a clear shift to lower-rate economies below the top tier.

Nigeria ranks 7th among Europe’s crude oil suppliers, peaking at 0.54 million barrels per day
  • The USA leads the suppliers with 1.40 million barrels/day, making it the largest single contributor to the EU’s crude oil imports in 2024.
  • Norway and Kazakhstan follow closely, delivering 1.10M and 1.05M b/d respectively, together accounting for over 24% of the EU’s total imports.
  • Nigeria ranks 7th, contributing 0.54M b/d, which is 5.9% of total EU crude oil imports, ahead of Brazil and the UK.
  • The top 6 suppliers (USA to Iraq) delivered 5.45 million b/d in total, representing nearly 60% of the EU’s crude oil demand.
  • The rest of the world, not listed among the top 10, contributed 2.24M b/d, underscoring the EU’s diversified sourcing strategy.

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