From the early 1960s through the 1990s, Ethiopia's cattle population growth placed it at the forefront of African livestock rearers, holding the top position with millions of cattle.
This leadership continued into the 2000s, reflecting Ethiopia's robust cattle industry on the continent. Sudan managed to take the top position a few times, mostly around the 2000s.
However, Ethiopia quickly reclaimed the top spot. Nigeria's cattle population grew from about 6.03 million in 1961 to 20.9 million in 2022, claiming 6th position in Africa as of 2022.
Africa accounted for one-fourth of the global cattle population as of 2022.
From 1961 to 2022, Nigeria contributed about 7.3% to the global groundnut production, making it a key player in the sector. Alongside China and India, which also dominated production, these three countries accounted for 61% of the world’s groundnut supply.
Between 2000 and 2023, Africa received $182 billion in Chinese loans, primarily for energy and transportation development.
Angola, with 25%, was the largest recipient; Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya followed.
While 49 countries benefited, experts warn of increasing debt risks.
As of 2022, the top five African countries indebted to the World Bank — Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania — accounted for 46% of the continent's outstanding debt with the institution.
Forty-eight African countries collectively owed around $125 billion, representing 31% of the total global debt of $408 billion. These are the top ten countries from 1970 to 2022.
Over the past six decades, African economies have experienced both rapid growth and severe contractions.
Nigeria and South Africa, often considered the continent’s economic heavyweights, have consistently ranked among Africa's top three economies since 1960.
North African Libya, Algeria and Egypt have also been in the top three in the period.
As of 2023, Egypt led the continent's GDP rankings.
Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco have consistently led Africa's diaspora remittance, contributing 67% of the continent's total inflows since 2000.
In 2023, African nations received $94.78 billion, with Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco leading.
Here are the top ten countries since 2000.
As of December 2023, 28.6 million internally displaced people affected by conflict were under the age of 18, accounting for 38% of the global IDP population.
Conflict-ravaged Sudan has the most internally displaced children globally, with 4.25 million under the age of 18.
DR Congo and Syria follow with 3.57 million and 2.65 million displaced children, respectively. Nigeria's 1.65 million displaced children make it the 7th highest globally for child displacement due to conflict.
In 2022, Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, and Morocco collectively consumed an average of 2.712 million barrels of oil per day (Mb/d), 61% of the continent's daily oil consumption (4.478 Mb/d). African countries consumed 4.7% of the global usage (99.8 Mb/d).
Egypt used the most (850.5 thousand barrels per day (Kb/d)), followed by South Africa (601.2 Kb/d) and Nigeria (514.5 Kb/d).
In 2022, the US hosted a diverse African immigrant community, totaling over 2.75 million. Nigerians make up the largest group at 448,405 (16.3%), followed by Ethiopians (10.6%), Egyptians (8.3%), and Ghanaians (7.8%).
