Nigeria ranked first in Africa, with 880 H-1B visas issued in FY 2024, far ahead of Ghana (499) and Egypt (364).
East and Southern Africa featured prominently, with Kenya (320), South Africa (208), and Zimbabwe (132) among the top 10.
North African representation was modest, with Morocco (78) and Egypt (364) being the only countries in the region on the list.
Despite these numbers, Africa’s collective total is marginal globally, especially compared to India’s ~150,000 issuances and China’s large volumes.
President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee for new U.S. H-1B skilled worker visas will have limited impact on Africa, which has historically received only a small fraction of these visas.
South Africa sets the benchmark with the fastest average download speed (42.42 Mbps), more than double Morocco’s (19.61 Mbps).
Southern African countries dominate the top half of the ranking, with South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana, Lesotho, and Madagascar all featuring strongly.
Rwanda and Mauritius show East Africa’s progress, with average speeds above 30 Mbps, signalling solid digital infrastructure growth.
Wide disparities persist, with the gap between the highest (South Africa) and lowest (Morocco) averaging over 22 Mbps.
Mauritius is the fastest-growing hub with a 63% surge in millionaires, highlighting its rising financial services sector and favourable investment climate.
Rwanda (+48%) and Morocco (+40%) also show strong upward trends, driven by economic diversification and political stability.
Nigeria (-47%), Angola (-36%), and Algeria (-23%) recorded the steepest declines, reflecting oil dependence, currency challenges, and political instability.
Africa overall saw a -5% dip, showing that while select countries are thriving, the continent’s wealth distribution has shifted unevenly.
Egypt and South Africa dominate Africa’s space presence, with 14 and 13 satellites respectively, accounting for nearly one-third of the continent’s total.
Nigeria (7), Algeria (6), and Morocco (5) form the next tier, highlighting North and West Africa as emerging hubs in satellite development.
The majority of other African countries with satellites, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Djibouti and Angola, have two satellites each.
Out of 54 African nations, only 18 have any satellites in orbit, underscoring the vast disparity in space investment and technological capacity across the continent.
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.
