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  • Nigeria's VAT revenue has grown every year since 2013, reaching ₦3.6 trillion in 2023. The amount collected in 2023 exceeded 2022’s by ₦1.13 trillion — a 45% increase.

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    Argentina, Egypt, and Ukraine were the IMF’s top three debtors as of June 26, 2024, accounting for $51 billion (46%) of the total debt. Egypt, Angola, and Kenya occupy the top three spots in Africa on the IMF’s debtors’ list.

    As of December 2023, Kenya's public debt stood at Ksh11.14 trillion (approximately $76.8 billion). By June 2024, its debt to the IMF had increased by 245% from $744 million in August 2020.

    This increase has coincided with protests in Kenya, where citizens opposed a proposed finance bill aiming to raise additional taxes to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.

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  • Top ten African countries by estimated number of films produced annually

    The Nigerian movie industry, mainly financed via public or private funding and international grants, produces the most films in Africa, yearly. Nigeria produced more than double the number of films that the Ghanaian and Kenyan movie industries produce annually.

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    Only 10% of Nigerians earn above ₦100,000, according to the Nigerian Financial Services Market Report. This aligns with most reports about Nigeria, and it's in sharp contrast to the narratives online.
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  • Nigeria was the seventh most populous nation in the world in 2020, with 206.1 million people. Projected to reach a population of 401.3 million by 2050, Nigeria will rank third after India (1st) and China (2nd). According to Institut national d'études démographiques' projections, Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Egypt, Tanzania, and Kenya will be among the world’s top 20 most populous countries by 2050.

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    Every Nigerian president since 1999 left office with a higher dollar to naira exchange rate than when they took office. Will President Tinubu's tenure be the exception?

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  • As of February 2023, Airtel had the fastest Internet speed of all mobile operators in Nigeria at 22.42Mbps, followed by MTN with 21.71Mbps, and Glo with 8.70Mbps. 9mobile comes last with a speed of 8.32Mbps. Airtel's speed of 22.42Mbps was about 26% of Starlink's speed.

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  • A Trend of Adult literacy rates of African countries

    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.

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  • Top ten African countries by estimated number of films produced annually

    The Nigerian movie industry, mainly financed via public or private funding and international grants, produces the most films in Africa, yearly. Nigeria produced more than double the number of films that the Ghanaian and Kenyan movie industries produce annually.

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Other Insights
  • IHS Towers is the largest tower infrastructure provider in Nigeria, with 18,925 towers in 2023.
  • IHS Towers controls 62.3% of the collocated telecom towers in the country.
  • ATC Nigeria follows, operating 8,270 towers, significantly behind IHS Towers.
  • Other players include Africa Mobile Networks (1,326 towers) and smaller firms (1,852 towers).
  • The Nigerian tower market is highly consolidated, with IHS and American Tower Corporation dominating the space.
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  • MTN dominates submarine fibre optic deployment among GSM operators in Nigeria, increasing its network from 1,500 km in 2018 to 17,984 km in 2022
  • Glo had the earliest and largest submarine fibre deployment, peaking at 19,200 km in 2012, but later scaled down to 9,800 km from 2014 onwards
  • Airtel has not invested in submarine fibre, with its network remaining below 25 km throughout the period
  • 9mobile has not deployed any submarine fibre cable since 2012
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  • Airtel has shown the most aggressive fibre optic expansion, increasing from 4,632 km in 2012 to 16,112 km in 2022
  • Glo initially led with 16,224 km in 2012, but its fibre optic deployment later declined and stabilised around 13,000 km from 2018 to 2022
  • Between 2019 and 2022, MTN's deployment remained unchanged at 14,612 km
  • 9mobile's fibre deployment peaked in 2018 at 4,650 km and remained unchanged till 2022
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  • Dangote Cement has grown its revenue consistently since 2014 and reached a historic ₦3.6 trillion in 2024
  • Revenues have more than tripled between 2020 (₦1.0 trillion) and 2024 (₦3.6 trillion)
  • The year-on-year growth rate shows fluctuations, with declines in some years and sharp rebounds in 2020, 2022, and 2024
  • The highest year-on-year growth occurred in 2024 (62.2%), signalling a particularly strong performance
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  • Nigeria’s active mobile GSM lines reached an all-time high of 224 million in 2023, up from 222 million in 2022.
  • The number of active lines has grown steadily from 40 million in 2007, with notable surges in 2012 (110 million), 2018 (172 million), and 2020 (204 million).
  • Growth slowed between 2016 and 2017, where active lines dipped slightly from 154 million to 145 million, before resuming an upward trajectory.
  • With over 220 million active lines, Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest telecom markets, driven by increasing mobile adoption.
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Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio (2024 vs 2028)
  • Unlike other regions, Southern Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to increase by 5.8 percentage points, reaching 77.4% by 2028.
  • Northern Africa is set to achieve the largest debt-to-GDP decline of 14.7 percentage points, from 84.2% to 69.5%, indicating significant fiscal adjustments.
  • Central Africa is expected to see a 12 percentage point drop, reducing its debt-to-GDP ratio from 45.8% to 33.8%.
  • West Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to fall by 4.3 percentage points, while Eastern Africa is expected to drop by 5.2 percentage points, both showing signs of improved debt management.
  • Even with the projected declines, some regions like Northern Africa (69.5%) and Southern Africa (77.4%) will still have high debt burdens compared to others like Central Africa (33.8%).
  • The declining debt-to-GDP ratios in most regions suggest either economic expansion or strategic debt control, but Southern Africa’s increase indicates potential fiscal stress.
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  • Nigeria's largest cement manufacturers each recorded over 50% revenue growth in 2024
  • BUA Cement recorded the largest revenue growth in 2024 (90.5%), nearly doubling its revenue from ₦460 billion in 2023
  • Dangote Cement's revenue exceeded the combined revenue of BUA Cement and Lafarge Africa in both 2023 and 2024
  • Lafarge Africa earned ₦696.8 billion in revenue, the lowest revenue of the three cement majors
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Key takeaways:

  • Tecno (23.55%) and Infinix (21.73%) lead the Nigerian mobile market, making up a combined 45.28% of the market share.
  • Samsung (12.36%) is the leading non-Chinese brand, with Apple (9.43%) following closely behind.
  • Xiaomi (7.15%) and Huawei (4.34%) are emerging as significant players in Nigeria's mobile sector.
  • Premium brands such as Samsung (12.36%) and Apple (9.43%) have considerable but smaller market shares compared to their Chinese counterparts.
  • Chinese manufacturers collectively dominate over 60% of the mobile market in Nigeria.
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Key takeaways:

  • In February 2025, Samsung and Apple dominate the mobile market in Africa.
  • Samsung leads with a 29.80% share of the continent's mobile market based on usage.
  • Apple ranks second with a 13.27% share, demonstrating resilience in markets sensitive to pricing.
  • Collectively, Chinese manufacturers hold more than 45% of the mobile market in Africa.
  • Brands under Transsion Holdings (Tecno, Infinix, Itel) together represent nearly 25% of the total market share based on usage.
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Key Takeaways:

  • In 2023, Kiribati spent the largest % of its GDP on education, amounting to 16.39%.
  • Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu each allocated over 10% of their GDP to education.
  • Bolivia and the Solomon Islands each directed around 8.3% of their GDP spending towards education.
  • The top ten countries dedicated approximately 6.6% to 16.4% of their GDP to education.
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  • Lagos carried the South-West VAT burden, remitting ₦305.52B (89.6% of the region's total) but receiving only ₦62.59B (20.5% return), making it the highest net contributor in Nigeria.
  • Osun had the most disproportionate gain, remitting a mere ₦590M but receiving ₦7.73B, an astronomical 1,211% return—the highest redistribution gain in the South-West.
  • The entire South-West remitted ₦341.18B but received only ₦106.85B, meaning it got back just ₦0.31 for every ₦1 contributed, highlighting a severe VAT allocation imbalance.
  • Ondo and Ogun remitted only ₦3.3B but received ₦16B combined, far exceeding their generated VAT, while Lagos alone subsidised most of the allocations across the country.
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  • The South-East remitted ₦10.94 billion in VAT but received ₦39.15 billion, a 257.7% increase, showing a high reliance on VAT sharing.
  • Abia, the lowest contributor (₦734M), received ₦7.29B, nearly 10× its remittance, making it the biggest relative beneficiary in the region.
  • Anambra, the highest contributor (₦3.56B), received only ₦8.72B, showing a sharing trend where high-contributing states do not necessarily receive the most.
  • Every South-East state received at least 2× what they remitted, with an average allocation of ₦7.83B despite an average contribution of just ₦2.19B.
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Key takeaways:
  • Manufactured goods accounted for 44.2% of Nigeria’s total imports.
  • Petroleum products (excluding crude oil) made up 38% of the import value.
  • Raw materials represented 11% of the total import value.
  • Agricultural imports contributed 6.2% to the overall import value.
  • The total import value stood at ₦60.59 trillion in 2024, from ₦30.86 trillion in 2023.
  • The energy resources sector made a negligible amount in import value, while no record was made for the crude oil sector.
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  • Nigeria’s MMR dropped by just 13% in 23 years — from 1,136 to 993
  • The country never left the global top 10 between 2000 and 2023
  • Nigeria became number one by 2021 and still leads
  • Sierra Leone dropped by 78%, from 1,603 to 354
  • South Sudan dropped by 58%, despite conflict
  • Africa dominated the list, with nearly all top 10 countries coming from the region
  • Nigeria accounted for 29% of global maternal deaths in 2023
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Key Takeaways:
  • Mineral fuels and oils dominated the US' imports from Nigeria, totalling $5.28 billion.
  • Total US imports from Nigeria reached $5.70 billion in 2024.
  • Non-oil sectors contributed approximately $423 million to the total US imports from Nigeria.
  • US imports from Nigeria cut across 70 distinct product categories.
  • The average value across all import categories was $81.4 million.
  • The top 10 imported goods made up 99.1% of the total imported value.
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Key Takeaways:
  • Mineral fuels and oils led the US' exports to Nigeria at $1.82B, making up over 43% of the total.
  • Vehicles and automotive parts followed at $677.65 million, with machinery and nuclear reactors contributing $487.23 million.
  • Total US exports to Nigeria reached $4.17 billion in 2024.
  • The top 10 export categories made up 90.7% of the total export value.
  • The top three US export categories to Nigeria accounted for nearly 72% of total exports.
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  • Only 4 African countries ever crossed 1 million b/d:   Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, and Angola.
  • Libya was Africa’s top producer in the 1970s and 2000s. At its peak, Libya did over 3 million b/d. No other African country has touched that.
  • Nigeria peaked in 2005 with 2.5 million b/d. But since then, it’s been unstable due to theft and pipeline issues.
  • Angola and Algeria have stayed around or above 1 million b/d for long periods, especially post-2000.
  • Despite oil discoveries, most African countries never got close to 1 million b/d: countries like Chad, Sudan, and Gabon, while some peaked under 500k.
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Key takeaways:
  • Mexico ranked as the leading destination for the US' agricultural exports in 2024, with a total value of $30.32 billion (17.2% of total agricultural exports).
  • North American neighbours, Mexico and Canada, collectively accounted for 33.3% of total US agricultural exports.
  • China was the third-largest market, importing $24.65 billion (14%) of the US' agricultural products.
  • Asian markets, including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, collectively absorbed 31.7% of the US' agricultural exports.
  • The top three markets (Mexico, Canada, and China) made up 47.3% of the US' total agricultural export value.
  • The top 10 markets accounted for 74.8% of the US' agricultural exports, totalling $131.85 billion.
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