Nigeria held the top spot in global cashew production from 2001 to 2010. This highlights a period of strong agricultural output, though the country has since been overtaken by India and Côte d'Ivoire. In recent years, Côte d'Ivoire has emerged as the world’s leading cashew producer, holding the top spot for three consecutive years as of 2022. This shift highlights the country's growing role in global cashew production. India and Mozambique once dominated global production, with India leading for 35 of the past 62 years.
Once the world’s leading cashew producer, Nigeria saw production fall below 100k tonnes in 2022 after hitting a high of 800,000 tonnes in 2009. Despite this decline, experts believe the sector could generate $2.4 billion in foreign exchange annually if production is increased.
Rwanda is performing relatively well in terms of governance and rule of law, leading sub-Saharan Africa for the third consecutive year with a score of 0.63 in the 2024 Rule of Law Index. Namibia (0.61) and Mauritius (0.60) closely follow, showcasing relatively stronger legal frameworks.
At the lower end, Nigeria, Congo, and Gabon score 0.40, highlighting persistent governance challenges.
Globally, Denmark tops the list of 142 countries, with a score of 0.90, while Venezuela ranks last at 0.26, emphasising the gap between SSA's highest performers and global leaders. This mix of progress and struggles illustrates the varied state of governance across the region.
As ATMs struggle with cash shortages, Nigerians have turned to POS to fill the gap — even when using them comes with higher fees. POS transactions in Nigeria jumped from just below one million in 2009 to nearly 10 billion in 2023.
The largest single-year increase in POS transactions occurred in 2023, while ATM usage peaked in 2020 but has since dropped consistently. In 2021, POS transactions surpassed ATM volumes for the first time, signalling a major change in how Nigerians handle these financial services.
Since the 2007/08 academic year, Nigeria has consistently held the top spot for the number of African international students in the US. Before this, Kenya and Egypt also led in certain periods.
This trend highlights the evolving landscape of African students pursuing education in the US over the decades.
