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  • The value of transactions conducted over Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) in Nigeria in 2021 was ₦5.2 trillion, 73% higher than 2020 figures. The total transaction value dropped by ₦685 billion in 2022, a 13.3% decline. The transaction volume also witnessed a 6% decline.

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    In June 2023, Nigeria exported goods worth ₦3.026 trillion and imported goods worth ₦1.285 trillion, resulting in a trade surplus of ₦1.74 trillion. This came after a trade deficit of ₦653 billion in May 2023. Here is Nigeria's trade balance since July 2022.
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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.

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  • The FAAC's revenue distribution from 2017 to August 2023 highlights the dominance of Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Bayelsa states in allocations. Despite Lagos' economic prominence, it ranked fifth. Here is the distribution of revenue among states between 2017 and August 2023.

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    Africa's sanitation crisis is alarming, with 17 of the top 20 countries having the highest open defecation rates.

    Eritrea (67%), Niger (65%), and Chad (63%) lead, putting millions at risk of disease.

    Even Nigeria, the most populous African country, has 18% of its population practising it.

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    • The GDP contribution from the telecom sector increased from 14.13% in Q1 2023 to 16.36% in Q2 2024.
    • The highest contribution (16.36%) was seen in Q2 2024.
    • The telecom sector contributes significantly to GDP, maintaining values above 10% quarterly from Q1 2020 to Q3 2024.
    • The second quarter consistently contributed more to Nigeria’s GDP throughout the observed timeframe.
    • The first and second quarters of 2024 showed an improvement in the sector's contribution to GDP compared to the previous years.
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  • 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.

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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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Other Insights
 
  • Gabon (84%) is Africa’s most urbanised country, while Burundi (15%) is the least.
  • Five of the top 10 urbanised African countries have an urban share above 75%.
  • Small island nations like Cabo Verde (79%) and Sao Tome & Principe (78%) rank highly, reflecting their concentrated settlements.
  • Resource-rich countries like Libya (78%), Botswana (76%), and Algeria (74%) show strong urbanisation patterns.
  • Ethiopia (23%) and Uganda (30%) highlight the urbanisation gap among high-population countries.
  • Nigeria sits at 55%, ranked 19th, reflecting moderate urbanisation compared to other African giants.
  • Most of the bottom 10 countries, such as Malawi (20%), Niger (18%), and Rwanda (18%), are still heavily rural, signalling slower urban development.
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  • Africa’s urban population has grown more than twelvefold, from 53 million in 1960 to nearly 700 million by 2025.
  • The share of Africans living in urban areas has risen from 18.7% in 1960 to 45% in 2025, and is projected to hit 57% by 2045.
  • Africa will reach a 50% urban population by 2035, where half of its population will reside in cities.
  • From 2000 to 2025, Africa’s urban population nearly tripled, highlighting the intensity of recent growth.
  • By 2045, 1.3 billion Africans will live in urban centres, making city development central to the continent’s progress.
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  • More than 60% of the countries in Africa are commodity-dependent.
  • South Sudan leads the list with 99.5%.
  • Nigeria’s commodity export dependence is 96.3%, dominated by energy (89.7%), followed by agriculture (4.0%) and mining (2.6%).
  • Africa alone accounts for nearly 47% of all commodity dependent countries globally.
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  • Of the 54 African countries, 46 earn more than 60% of export revenues from raw goods.
  • Algeria, Morocco, Eswatini, Lesotho, Djibouti, Mauritius, Comoros, and Egypt stand out with less than 60%.
  • Algeria and Morocco are the least dependent, pointing to stronger industrial and trade sectors.
  • Lower dependence means greater economic stability, while high reliance exposes countries to volatile global commodity markets.
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  • Africa has the youngest population globally, with a median age of 19.3 years.
  • Europe has the oldest population, with a median age of 42.8 years.
  • North America follows closely behind Europe, with a median age of 38.7 years.
  • Oceania’s median age stands at 33.4 years, slightly higher than Asia’s.
  • Asia’s population is relatively younger than Europe and North America, with a 32.5-year median age.
  • The age gap between Africa and Europe is over 23 years, showing the stark global demographic divide.
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  • Subscriptions peaked at 23.5 million in 2015 before a long decline.
  • The 2017 debt crisis and Etisalat UAE’s exit triggered sustained losses.
  • By mid-2025, active lines had plunged to 2.4 million, the steepest fall in the sector.
  • In August 2025, the firm rebranded as T2, unveiling a new plan to stabilise and grow again
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  • England tops the world women’s rugby ranking with 97.76 points, maintaining a clear lead over other nations.
  • Canada and New Zealand follow as the second and third-strongest women’s rugby teams globally.
  • South Africa ranks 12th and Kenya 20th, making them the only African nations in the global top 20.
  • Traditional rugby nations like France, Ireland, and Australia feature prominently in the top 10.
  • Asian teams such as Japan and Hong Kong highlight the growing spread of women’s rugby beyond traditional regions.
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  • South Africa leads the world rugby rankings with 92.78 points, ahead of New Zealand’s 92.06.
  • The gap between the first and second position is just 0.72 points, showing a close contest at the top.
  • Ireland remains the highest-ranked European team with 89.83 points.
  • France and England, with 87.82 and 87.64 points respectively, are in close competition for the fourth and fifth spots.
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  • Africa’s fertility rate in 2025 is estimated at 3.95, the highest in the world.
  • Europe’s fertility rate is the lowest in 2025 at just 1.41 children per woman.
  • Latin America and the Caribbean saw a steep drop from 5.83 in 1955 to 1.78 in 2025.
  • Asia’s fertility rate fell from 5.85 in 1955 to 1.87 in 2025.
  • Oceania’s fertility rate dropped from 6.58 in 1955 to 2.13 in 2025.
  • By 2025, all continents except Africa are at or below the replacement rate of 2.1.
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  • Gold bullion dominates exports, contributing ¢163.0B (55.3%) of total exports.

  • Petroleum oils follow distantly at ¢52.6B (17.8%).

  • Cocoa (beans, paste, butter) remains a vital sector, collectively worth ¢24.7B (8.4%).

  • Manganese, cashew, tuna, iron/steel, and shea oil are niche contributors, each under 2% of exports.

  • All other products still make up a significant 14.4% (¢42.4B), showing potential for export diversification.
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  • Petrol prices in Nigeria rose by 52% between August 2024 (₦830.5) and March 2025 (₦1,261.7).
  • The highest monthly increase was in September 2024 (+24.1%), while the sharpest drop came in April 2025 (-17.1%).
  • By July 2025, prices had eased to ₦1,025, still 23% higher than a year earlier.
  • NNPC retail outlets offered significantly lower prices than the national average, with Abuja as low as ₦880 at the March 2025 peak.
  • Dangote Refinery offered relatively competitive pricing, ranging from ₦840 to ₦899, creating an alternative supply option.
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  • France tops the world with 13 time zones, owing largely to its overseas territories spread across the globe.
  • The US and Russia follow closely, each spanning 11 time zones, reflecting their massive geographic spread.
  • In contrast, Africa remains highly unified, with just two countries, DR Congo and South Africa, operating two time zones each.
  • Most nations on the list, including Brazil, Mexico, and Spain, fall between 2–4 zones, underscoring how rare double-digit time zone coverage is.
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  • South Africa dominates with 30 battery storage systems, the largest by far.
  • Egypt is the second-largest market with 7 projects, while Morocco has 4.
  • Nigeria and Senegal have five projects each (operational + pipeline).
  • Several countries, including Ghana, Togo, Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, and Mauritius, each have just one or two projects, indicating an uneven spread across the continent.
  • South Africa also leads in systems under construction (7).
  • Operational projects are still limited continent-wide, with most systems either under construction or in the planning pipeline.
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  • Imports from ECOWAS countries peaked at 39.9% in H1 2024, up from just 12.0% in H1 2021.
  • The share declined to 32.4% in H1 2025, showing a reversal after the 2024 peak.
  • Total import values grew sharply, from ₦209.6B in H1 2020 to ₦1.8T in H1 2025.
  • In H1 2019, ECOWAS already had a decent share of 19.6%, showing long-standing but fluctuating trade ties.
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  • ECOWAS’ share of Nigerian exports rose from 34.2% in H1 2019 to 62.1% in H1 2025.
  • The most significant share came in H1 2022, when ECOWAS accounted for 75.8% of exports.
  • Exports to other African countries dropped significantly in 2022, to just 24.2%.
  • Nigeria’s total exports to Africa grew from ₦0.9T in H1 2022 to ₦4.8T in H1 2025.
  • ECOWAS consistently maintained a majority share from H1 2022 onwards, with a share above 60%.
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  • FDI inflows in Nigeria peaked at $8.8 billion in 2011, marking the highest point in the Fourth Republic.
  • From 2011 to 2024, FDI inflows dropped, settling at $1.1 billion in 2024.
  • The early Fourth Republic (1999–2011) showed growth in FDI inflows.
  • FDI outflows rose from $0.2 billion in 1999 to $1.5 billion in 2009, reflecting gradual international expansion by Nigerian investors.
  • From 2015 onward, both inflows and outflows showed significant volatility, with no clear recovery trend.
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  • Debt service costs in South Africa overtook government health spending in 2020/21.
  • In South Africa's 2025 budget, debt service costs stand at R426.3B, compared to R296.1B for health.
  • Debt service costs grew at 11.3% CAGR (2017–2025), more than double the 5.0% CAGR of government health expenditure.
  • The gap between debt and health spending widened sharply after 2020/21, with debt consistently pulling ahead.
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  • The young-to-old dependency ratio stands at 14:1, showing that youth dependency overwhelmingly drives the total ratio.
  • The total dependency ratio declined from 88.2% in 1976 to 78.8% in 2024, showing slow but steady improvement.
  • The youth dependency ratio has dropped from 82.2% to 73.3% over the same period.
  • The old-age dependency ratio remained almost flat, averaging around 5–6% for nearly 50 years.
  • The highest total dependency ratio was 95.0% in 1988.
  • The ratio’s slight downward trend after 2012 reflects a growing working-age population entering the labour market.
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