President Tinubu was recently elected to take over from President Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau as ECOWAS Chairman, making him the 9th from Nigeria. Since its inception, new chairmen have emerged 36 times, with Nigeria producing the most chairmen. Four countries in the ECOWAS region have collectively produced more than half of the chairmen since the organisation's founding, with each contributing multiple chairmen. Cape Verde is the only member country yet to produce a chairman.
The 2024 Global Peace Index reveals a decline in peacefulness in 97 countries, the highest since the index began.
Nigeria is among the nations affected by regional conflicts and rising violence. With a peace index score of 2.91, Nigeria is facing increasing challenges.
A deteriorating peace score impacts foreign investment and economic stability. Global economic losses due to violence reached $19.1 trillion in 2023.
Between 2018 and 2021, adult literacy rates across African nations exhibited significant disparities. Seychelles and South Africa led with literacy rates of 96% and 95%, respectively, indicating a high proportion of literate adults. Conversely, Chad had the lowest literacy rate during this period.
These statistics underscore the uneven progress in educational attainment across Africa, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to improve literacy in lower-performing nations.
The Global Innovation Index 2024 reveals a striking contrast in innovation performance between countries globally and across Africa. Switzerland leads the global rankings with an impressive score of 67.5, followed by Sweden (64.5) and the USA (62.4), highlighting their sustained investments in research, development, and technological advancement.
In Africa, Mauritius takes the top spot with a score of 30.5, followed closely by Morocco (28.8) and South Africa (28.3). However, even Africa's most innovative nations achieve less than half the score of global leaders, indicating a significant innovation gap.
Nigeria ranks 15th in the African ranking and 113th globally, out of 133 countries, with a score of 17.1.
Key takeaways:
The 2024 Global Peace Index reveals a decline in peacefulness in 97 countries, the highest since the index began.
Nigeria is among the nations affected by regional conflicts and rising violence. With a peace index score of 2.91, Nigeria is facing increasing challenges.
A deteriorating peace score impacts foreign investment and economic stability. Global economic losses due to violence reached $19.1 trillion in 2023.
Abdulsamad Rabiu’s wealth has consistently increased for 4 consecutive years since 2020. Aliko Dangote, on the other hand, experienced 3 consecutive years of wealth growth starting from 2021. Mike Adenuga's wealth recorded growth in 2021 and 2022, but it took a downturn in 2023.
Abdulsamad Rabiu's financial journey has been particularly noteworthy, with his wealth witnessing a substantial surge from $1.2b in 2014 to $8.2b in 2023. This growth has seen him surpass Mike Adenuga and become the country's second-wealthiest individual as of 2023.
Over time, Nigerian workers under 50 have increasingly relied on pension savings during unemployment. This graph illustrates the upward trend with some fluctuations in both the total amount withdrawn — ₦26.9 billion in 2022, and the number of approved withdrawals. Individuals who can withdraw 25% of their retirement savings balance are those who disengaged/retired before the age of 50 years in accordance with the terms and conditions of their respective employment and stayed unemployed for at least six months.
President Tinubu was recently elected to take over from President Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau as ECOWAS Chairman, making him the 9th from Nigeria. Since its inception, new chairmen have emerged 36 times, with Nigeria producing the most chairmen. Four countries in the ECOWAS region have collectively produced more than half of the chairmen since the organisation's founding, with each contributing multiple chairmen. Cape Verde is the only member country yet to produce a chairman.
Since 2015, electricity revenue in Nigeria has been on the rise, with 8.7% in 2015 the lowest increase and 45% in 2021, the highest.
Of the ₦7.98 trillion generated in the last 8 years, 53% (₦4.2 trillion) was generated in the last 3 years (2020, 2021, and 2022) combined.Per several news sources, there was an increase in electricity tariff in 6 of Nigeria's 11 Distribution Companies in January 2022, resulting in an 8.8% increase in revenue despite a 6.6% decrease in electricity billed in the year.
In the last 5 years, the Nigerian Railway Corporation made ₦18.9b in revenue, 61% of which was generated in 2021 and 2022 combined. The highest revenue increase (197%) was recorded in 2021 before an 8% drop in 2022. Here are Nigerian Railway Corporation's revenues since 2018.
Between 2012 and 2021, more than 94,300 suspects were arrested for drug-related offences in Nigeria, 92.9% male and 7.1% female. 2021 recorded 12,306 arrests, the highest in the 10 year period. North West Nigeria leads in drug-related arrests compared to other regions between 2012 and 2021
Per data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, countries in the Americas were the biggest military spenders in 2022, with a combined $961.1 billion in military expenditure — 43% of the global military spending — followed by Asia & Oceania with $574.9 billion. In Africa, Algeria has maintained its top position for years, spending as much as $10.4 billion in 2015. Nigeria's military spending saw a 56% growth in 2021 as it reached $4.5 billion. However, it dropped 44% in 2022, making the country Africa's fourth highest spender.
