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  • Nigeria repaid an average of $368m in external debt every year between 2008 and 2017. In 2018, the payments increased by 217% to $1.47b from $464m in 2017, then dropped by 9.4% in 2019, and has since been on the rise. Here are Nigeria's external debt repayments since 2008.
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    In the past 10 years, Nigeria has received $131 billion in capital imports

    Nigeria's capital importation has been on a decline after it hit a $24 billion peak in 2019. In the past 10 years, it received $131 billion, with the lowest recorded in 2016. Here are the country's capital imports since 2013.

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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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    Inflation rate in Nigeria increased to 31.7% in February 2024. Nigeria has the 13th highest inflation rate out of 186 countries and territories as of February 2024.

    The data showcases Argentina leading with 276%, followed by Lebanon and Syria. Seven of the top fifteen are African.

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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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    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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  • In Q4 2023, Spectranet maintained its top position as Nigeria's biggest internet service provider with nearly 114k active subscribers, holding 43% of the market share. FiberOne followed with 10% of the market.

    Starlink increased its subscriber base by 113% to claim the 3rd position with 9% of the market.

    Here are Nigeria's top internet service providers by active subscribers in Q4 2023.

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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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  • 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.

    See more
Other Insights
Share of global active Facebook users by continent (Jan. 2025)
 
  • Asia holds nearly half (47.7%) of Facebook’s global users, with over 1.1 billion people actively using the platform.
  • America is second with 611.8M users, comprising 26.8% of the total user base.
  • Africa’s 291.1M users (12.7%) place it slightly ahead of Europe in Facebook engagement.
  • Europe contributes 11.8%, with 269M active users.
  • Oceania remains the smallest market, with just 23.6M users (1.0%).
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  • Mercado Libre leads with $8.5B, making it Baillie Gifford’s most valuable tech holding after its Jumia exit.
  • Amazon ($6.2B) and NVIDIA ($6.8B) remain major anchors in the portfolio, highlighting confidence in cloud, AI, and e-commerce.
  • The "Others" category holds the largest share ($75B), showing how Baillie Gifford’s exposure is spread widely beyond the major names.
  • Even post-Jumia, the portfolio is deeply rooted in innovation, with stakes in Spotify, Cloudflare, Moderna, and Shopify; covering audio streaming, cybersecurity, biotech, and e-commerce platforms.
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  • Microsoft’s revenue has grown steadily from $26.8B in Q1 2018 to $70.1B in Q1 2025, marking a 161% increase over the seven-year period.
  • Its net income more than tripled from $7.4B in Q1 2018 to $25.8B in Q1 2025, with consistent year-on-year growth, especially sharp increases between 2020 and 2023.
  • The company crossed the $50B quarterly revenue mark for the first time in Q4 2021, and hasn’t dropped below that threshold since Q1 2022.
  • From Q1 2023 to Q1 2025 alone, Microsoft’s net income surged by over $7.5B, signalling an era of record profitability, with each quarter surpassing $20B in profit since Q2 2023.
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Share of global active Messenger users by continent (Jan. 2025)
 
  • Asia leads the world in Messenger usage with 471.8M users, representing 49.9% of the global total.
  • Asia has 2.2 times more users than the Americas, which is the next largest region.
  • The Americas account for 210.7M users, or 22.3% of the global audience.
  • Europe contributes 154.3M users, making up 16.3% of all Messenger users worldwide.
  • Africa stands at 104.6M users, showing growth potential and already accounting for 11.1% of global usage.
  • Oceania has the smallest user base at just 4.8M users, contributing 0.5%.
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Number of Nigerians who use each (selected) social media platform (Jan. 2025)
 
  • Facebook has the highest number of users in Nigeria at 38.7 million, reaching 16.4% of the population.
  • TikTok follows closely with 37.4 million users, accounting for 15.8% of Nigerians.
  • YouTube attracts 27 million users, showing its continued relevance for content consumption.
  • Snapchat boasts 19.6 million users, with 8.3% penetration across the country.
  • LinkedIn is used by 11 million Nigerians, reflecting rising interest in professional networking.
  • Instagram has 9.9 million users, slightly below LinkedIn in total reach.
  • X (formerly Twitter) has 7.57 million users, capturing 3.2% of the population.
  • Messenger is the least used among the listed platforms, with 5.65 million users in Nigeria.
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  • University students filed 497,000 loan applications, accounting for a staggering 90.1% of all institutional submissions.
  • College of education students submitted just 34,000 applications, making up only 6.2% of the total pool.
  • Polytechnics trailed with 21,000 applications, contributing 3.7% to the national tally.
  • Out of every 10 students applying for a loan, 9 are university students, underscoring their dominance in demand.
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  • The United States holds the largest IMF quota by far, with 82,994.2 billion SDRs, accounting for 17.42%, more than double the quota of any other country.
  • Japan, China, and Germany follow as the next largest contributors, each holding between 5.5% and 6.5% of total quota shares.
  • European countries (Germany, France, the U.K., Italy) collectively maintain a strong presence, together accounting for nearly 17.21%, almost equal to the U.S. alone.
  • Emerging economies like India and Russia have relatively modest shares (2.75% and 2.71%, respectively) despite their growing roles in global economic affairs, indicating an imbalance between global influence and IMF voting power.
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  • The number of female central bank governors rose from 21 in 2014 to 29 in 2024, a 38% increase over the decade.
  • The lowest point was in 2018, with just 14 female governors, marking a 33% drop from the 2014 figure.
  • A rebound began after 2018, with consistent annual growth from 2020 onwards, peaking in 2024.
  • The number remained under 20 for six consecutive years (2015–2021) before breaking past that mark again in 2022.
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  • University of Maiduguri leads with 31,770 applications, indicating a significant demand for student loans in the North East.
  • North West institutions dominate the list, with five universities (Bayero University Kano, Federal University Dutsinma Katsina, Ahmadu Bello University, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Umaru Musa Yar'adua University) collectively accounting for a substantial portion of applications.
  • North Central is represented by University of Jos and University of Ilorin, highlighting the region's active participation in the student loan programme.
  • Federal University, Kashere's presence underscores the North East's engagement, with two institutions in the top 10.
  • All listed universities received over 11,000 applications, reflecting widespread awareness and utilization of the student loan initiative across these regions.
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  • Male applicants dominate the Nigerian student loan landscape with 374,946 accounts, representing 68% of total applications.
  • Female applicants trail behind at 177,063, contributing just 32% to the total loan accounts.
  • For every 10 students who applied, approximately 7 are male and 3 are female.
  • The gender gap in student loan uptake is 197,883, with males nearly double the number of female applicants.
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  • With 167,639 applications, the North West zone accounts for the highest number of student loan submissions, representing a significant concentration of demand in that region.
  • The North East follows with 134,359 applications, bringing the northern region's combined total to over 300,000, more than half of all zonal submissions.
  • The South West stands as the highest-contributing southern zone with 104,079 applications, showing a strong but comparatively lower demand than the North.
  • The South East recorded just 29,097 applications, the lowest across all six geopolitical zones.
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Share of global active LinkedIn users by continent (Jan. 2025)
 
  • America leads globally on LinkedIn, with 465.6M users making up 38.8% of the user base.
  • Asia follows, contributing 397M users, or 33.1% of the global total.
  • Together, Asia and America make up 71.9% of all LinkedIn users, totalling over 862M.
  • Europe holds a solid 19.5% share, with 233.8M users.
  • Africa’s 83M users represent a smaller but growing 6.9% share of global users.
  • Oceania has the smallest share, at 1.8%, with only 21.5M users.
  • The distribution reveals that LinkedIn’s core strength lies in regions where digital employment and professional networks are deeply integrated into economic and career activity.
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  • Electricity distribution in South Africa reached its peak in 2018, a record high of 231 TWh.

  • The lowest electricity distribution was recorded in 2023, dropping to 206 TWh.

  • Load shedding has become a persistent challenge, with 2023 experiencing the highest number of load shedding days — 332 days in total.

  • Eskom accounts for about 80% of electricity distributed in South Africa.
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  • Just 16 out of 54 African countries have launched a national AI strategy.
  • Over 30 countries remain at the early or inactive stage with no clear roadmap.
  • Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is still drafting its AI policy.
  • Leaders include Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, Rwanda, and Senegal.
  • Most low-income and post-conflict states like Chad, Somalia, and South Sudan are far behind.
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  • Access Bank paid the highest total salaries in 2024, amounting to ₦357.6 billion.
  • Stanbic IBTC devoted the largest share of its revenue to salaries at 9.96%, despite a much lower total salary bill than Access or FirstHoldCo.
  • Zenith Bank had one of the highest salary bills (₦137.7 billion) but spent the smallest portion of its revenue on staff at just 3.47%.
  • Wema Bank, though paying the lowest in total salaries (₦33.8 billion), had one of the highest salary-to-revenue ratios at 7.81%.
  • FirstHoldCo, with ₦229.1 billion in staff costs, maintained a moderate salary-to-revenue ratio of 7.14%.
  • The gap between total salary spend and salary-to-revenue ratios reveals more about each bank’s internal cost structure.
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  • Access Bank led all Nigerian banks with ₦4.9T in gross earnings in 2024, nearly doubling its 2023 performance.
  • FirstHoldCo saw a sharp rise in earnings to ₦3.2T in 2024
  • Zenith Bank grew consistently, crossing the ₦4T mark in 2024 from ₦1T in 2022, showing strong operational expansion.
  • Wema Bank, despite being the smallest, quadrupled its earnings over two years, from ₦0.1T to ₦0.4T.
  • Fidelity and FCMB nearly tripled their gross earnings between 2022 and 2024, showing rising momentum among mid-tier banks.
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  • Real GDP grew from ₦205.1 trillion in 2019 to ₦217.8 trillion in 2024, a modest 6% rise.
  • Nominal GDP jumped from ₦205.1 trillion to ₦372.8 trillion over the same period, an 82% increase.
  • The gap between nominal and real GDP widened sharply after 2021, reaching ₦155 trillion in 2024.
  • Nominal GDP has grown year-on-year, with the steepest jump between 2023 (₦314.0 trillion) and 2024 (₦372.8 trillion).
  • Inflationary pressures have driven nominal gains, masking subdued real economic expansion.
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  • FirstBank's planned headquarters will have 43 floors, nearly double UBA‌'s HQ.
  • Among the five FUGAZ banks, three currently have headquarters with 15 floors or fewer.
  • FirstBank’s existing HQ has only 15 floors, showing how big the planned leap is.
  • UBA’s HQ in Marina leads the pack among existing HQs, with 23 floors, followed by Access Bank with 16 floors.
  • The new FirstBank property in Eko Atlantic will be the tallest bank HQ in Nigeria by a wide margin when completed.
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