Since the 1950s, the top sources of international students in the US have changed, with Canada initially leading, followed by Iran in the 1970s, Taiwan and Japan in the 1980s and 90s, and China and India taking the lead from the 2000s onward.
China and India account for a combined 54% of the total international students in the US as of the 2023/2024 academic year.
By 2021, Nigeria entered the top ten, reaching 7th place by 2024.
In 2023, the US immigrant (foreign-born) population reached an estimated 47.83 million, a 3.6% increase from 46.18 million in 2022, with Mexico leading as the top country of birth for immigrants, contributing nearly 23% of the total.
India, China, and the Philippines follow, with significant communities from El Salvador, Cuba, and Guatemala.
India has been the World Bank's largest debtor for over 50 years, with a debt of $38.3 billion as of 2022.
Five Asian nations — India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and China — owe a combined $111.2 billion, or 27% of the World Bank’s total debt.
Nigeria, Africa's largest World Bank debtor, ranks 10th, with nearly #14 billion in debt.
Nigeria was once a global leader in palm oil production, but it has been overtaken by Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Colombia.
Indonesia, in particular, has seen a 34,018% increase in production since 1961, reaching 49.7 million tonnes by 2021.
Asian countries dominated the global palm oil market in 2021.
Indonesia and Malaysia accounted for 67.8 million tonnes out of 80.7 million tonnes produced.
Smaller producers like Nigeria (1.4 million tonnes) and Guatemala (0.8 million tonnes) had modest contributions.
Cocoa beans are a vital commodity for many countries, driving their economies and supporting livelihoods. Over the years, cocoa production has seen significant fluctuations across different countries.
The world's cocoa-producing countries produced 104.2 million tonnes of cocoa beans between 2000 and 2022, enough to fill about 2.084 billion 50kg bags. Côte d'Ivoire maintains its dominance, accounting for 35.3% of global production in the 23 years under review, with Ghana (16.5%), Indonesia (15.4%), and Nigeria (7.7%) completing the top four.
These are the top ten countries in the period.
Argentina, Egypt, and Ukraine were the IMF’s top three debtors as of June 26, 2024, accounting for $51 billion (46%) of the total debt. Egypt, Angola, and Kenya occupy the top three spots in Africa on the IMF’s debtors’ list.
As of December 2023, Kenya's public debt stood at Ksh11.14 trillion (approximately $76.8 billion). By June 2024, its debt to the IMF had increased by 245% from $744 million in August 2020.
This increase has coincided with protests in Kenya, where citizens opposed a proposed finance bill aiming to raise additional taxes to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.
As of December 2023, Indians accounted for one in three holders of Canadian work permits, representing 32% of the total (1.76 million). Ukraine followed with almost 10%. Nigeria came 8th, with 2% of the permit holders.
Nigerian academic IELTS test takers scored an average of 6.7 out of 9 in 2022, placing the country joint 5th globally with Ghana, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Spanish academic IELTS test takers topped the list with an overall score of 7.1.
In 2023, Nigerian students emerged as the third-highest recipients of Canadian study permits, behind India and China.
This marked a jump from their fifth position in 2022, when 16,105 study permits were issued to its citizens.
India maintained its position as the top source country, followed by China. The Philippines, Nepal, and France retained their places in the top ten.
