• Estimates place Sierra Leone at the top, with about 64.5% of its GDP tied to the shadow economy.
• Niger (56.3%) and Ethiopia (50.2%) are the only other nations where over half of economic activity is informal.
• Even larger economies like Nigeria (30.0%) are estimated to have nearly a third of their GDP in unrecorded transactions.
• Across the listed countries, estimates range from 28.1% to 64.5%, revealing deep but varied informality in African economies.

• 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.

• The total number of out-of-school children in primary education in Lesotho rose to 96,388 in 2023, an increase of 40,511 from 2015.
• The number of children out of school in 2021 saw a sharp rise to 92,290, up from 69,906 in 2020.
• The gender gap remained relatively stable, with more boys than girls out of school each year.
• The overall trend shows a steady increase in the total number of children out of school, especially in the past five years.

• Lesotho's external debt stock grew from $912.1 million in 2014 to $1.74 billion in 2020.
• The most significant increase in debt occurred between 2015 and 2016, when the debt surged from $952.6 million to $1.36 billion.
• After 2020, external debt levels started to stabilise, with only a slight decline from $1.83 billion in 2021 to $1.78 billion in 2023.
• Despite the recent stabilisation, Lesotho’s external debt remains relatively high, indicating a need for debt sustainability and fiscal management.

• Libya's total revenue (85.78% of GDP) significantly surpassed all other African states.
• Lesotho is noteworthy with the second-highest total revenue ratio at 48.12%.
• Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tomé & Príncipe in Western Africa recorded total revenue of 30.79% and 25.38% respectively.
• South Africa generated 27.74% of its GDP in revenue.
• The top ten countries reported total revenue exceeding 28%.

• African countries have the lowest life expectancy.
• Most of the countries with the highest life expectancy are in Europe and Asia
• The countries with the highest life expectancy are mostly developed nations.
• Thirteen countries were observed to have a life expectancy above 84 years, while 11 countries have a life expectancy below 61 years.

Only 8% of South Sudan's population had access to electricity as of 2021, representing Africa's lowest percentage. Although eight countries boasted between 90% and 100% access to electricity, more than 50% of the population of 24 other countries were without electricity.