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USA leads FIBA Women’s Basketball global rankings; Nigeria breaks into top 10 with 640.1 points as the only African country
  • The USA dominates the rankings with 880.9 points, holding a significant lead over second-placed Australia (719.6).
  • France and China follow closely in 3rd and 4th, separated by just 6.5 points.
  • Nigeria’s D’Tigress ranks 8th globally with 640.1 points, the highest for any African nation.
  • Brazil and Serbia round out the top 10, both under 640 points.

The UK accounted for 62% of Nigeria’s capital imports in Q1 2025; South Africa and Mauritius led African sources
  • The United Kingdom accounted for over 62% of total capital imports into Nigeria in Q1 2025.
  • South Africa and Mauritius are the only African countries in the top 10, ranking 2nd and 3rd respectively.
  • Traditional powerhouses like the US and UAE contributed significantly less than the UK.
  • Emerging markets like the Cayman Islands and Singapore also made the list, reflecting Nigeria’s diverse capital origin base.

The United States of America hosts over 3,700 data centres, 8× more than any other country as of May 2025
  • The U.S. dominates globally with 3,757 data centers, more than 8× any other country in the top 10.
  • Germany and the U.K. follow distantly with 443 and 428 data centres, respectively.
  • No African country makes the top 10, emphasising the infrastructure gap.
  • Africa's top three show modest but notable progress: South Africa ranks 36th (49 data centres), Kenya 54th (18), and Nigeria 56th (16).

The U.S. holds the largest IMF quota at 82.99 billion SDRs, exceeding the combined shares of Japan and China
  • The United States holds the largest IMF quota by far, with 82,994.2 billion SDRs, accounting for 17.42%, more than double the quota of any other country.
  • Japan, China, and Germany follow as the next largest contributors, each holding between 5.5% and 6.5% of total quota shares.
  • European countries (Germany, France, the U.K., Italy) collectively maintain a strong presence, together accounting for nearly 17.21%, almost equal to the U.S. alone.
  • Emerging economies like India and Russia have relatively modest shares (2.75% and 2.71%, respectively) despite their growing roles in global economic affairs, indicating an imbalance between global influence and IMF voting power.

The US gold reserve of over 8,000 tonnes is higher than Germany's and Italy's gold reserves combined
Key takeaways:
  • The United States holds the largest national gold reserves in 2024, totalling 8,133.46 tonnes.
  • Western European countries in the top ten list collectively hold 9,892.76 tonnes of gold reserves.
  • China, India, and Japan are the only Asian countries in the top 10, together holding 4,001.71 tonnes.
  • The Russian Federation is the leading gold reserve holder in Central and Eastern Europe, with 2,332.74 tonnes.
  • All countries in the top ten list maintain at least 600 tonnes of gold reserves.
  • The total gold reserve held by the top ten countries amounted to 24,360.67 tonnes.

China tops the global reserves chart in 2024, holding nearly three times Japan’s reserves and having 5.53% of its total reserves as gold reserves
Key takeaways:
  • China leads all nations with total reserves of $3.46 trillion while holding 5.53% of its share in gold reserves.
  • The top 15 countries collectively hold a total reserve of $10.78 trillion.
  • Despite being the global leader in gold reserves, the United States ranks third in total reserves.
  • The largest share of the United States' total reserves is from its gold reserve holdings of 74.97%.
  • Countries in the top fifteen list hold at least $236.9 billion each in total reserves.
  • The United States, France, and Italy have more than 70% of their total reserve holdings in gold.

Canada’s study permit approvals dropped by 31% in 2024, with Nigeria, India, and the Philippines experiencing significant reductions
  • Canada announced a reduction in international student approvals in 2024, citing housing and resource pressures.
  • Global approvals dropped nearly 31% from 681.5k in 2023.
  • Nigerian approvals dropped 36%, ranking among the highest declines. India (-39.7%) and Nepal (-48.8%) were also major declines.
  • Canada plans to issue 437,000 study permits in 2025, 10% lower than 2024’s cap.
  • The UK, US, and local universities may see more Nigerian applicants.

China dominated apple production since 1992 and was growing half of the world’s apples by 2022
In 1961, China produced just 167,000 tonnes of apples, accounting for a mere 1% of global production. Over the next six decades, this figure surged by 28,300%, reaching 47.5 million tonnes by 2022 and capturing 50% of global production — growing at an average rate of around 7.5% per year. China's rise began with agricultural reforms in the late 1970s and gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s. These are the top ten apple-producing countries over the years.

France and Spain lead as Nigeria’s top export markets in H1 2024
Nigeria's total exports reached ₦38.6 trillion in H1 2024 — ₦19.2 trillion in Q1 and ₦19.4 trillion in Q2. Spain led export destinations in Q2 with ₦2.01 trillion, followed by the US (₦1.86 trillion) and France (₦1.82 trillion).

Indians had the most Canadian work permits with a 32% share; Nigeria was among the top ten as of December 2023
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.  

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