Seychelles holds Africa’s strongest passport, granting visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 156 destinations, and ranks 24th worldwide.
Mauritius follows closely, with a passport index score of 149 and a strong global rank of 27th.
South Africa leads mainland Africa, ranking 48th globally with access to 103 countries.
Southern African countries dominate Africa’s top 10, with Botswana, Namibia, and Lesotho all securing higher index scores than East and North African nations.
Africa’s passport strength varies widely, but island nations lead the way.
Gabon imposes Africa’s highest international air travel tax at $297.70, followed closely by Sierra Leone at $294 and Nigeria at $180.
Libya charges the lowest air travel tax among the listed African countries at just $1.30, with other low-cost countries including Malawi ($5.00), Lesotho ($5.70), and Algeria ($9.80).
All of the 10 most expensive countries charge over $100 in departure taxes, suggesting a trend of high levies among a subset of African nations.
The gap between the highest and lowest air travel taxes in Africa exceeds $296, revealing significant disparities in passenger costs across the continent.
Only four African countries, Seychelles, South Africa, Namibia, and Ghana, meet or exceed the WHO’s recommended minimum of 44.5 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 people.
Seychelles leads the continent with 73 personnel per 10,000, followed by South Africa (64), Namibia (54), and Ghana (45).
The lowest number within the top 20 is 16, shared by Nigeria, Comoros, and Mauritania.
The dataset includes 47 African countries, and no country outside the top 20 has more than 16 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 people.
Africa’s total cashew nut (in shell) production increased from 172,050 tonnes in 1961 to over 2.25 million tonnes in 2023, a growth of approximately 1,209%.
Western Africa has been the primary driver of this growth since the 1990s and now produces the largest share of cashew nuts in Africa.
Western Africa accounted for 84% of Africa’s total cashew nut production by 2023.
Middle Africa has maintained a minimal but consistent level of production.
Eastern Africa led production from the 1960s through the 1980s before being overtaken by Western Africa.
The most significant growth in Africa’s cashew production began in the 1990s.
Despite overall growth, cashew production in Africa has experienced periodic fluctuations.
Mostly due to their climate conditions, Southern and Northern Africa regions are less favourable for cashew production than other African regions.
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.
