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  • Over the years, the value of the Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL) has been on a massive downward trend compared to the US Dollar (USD). This has led to the latter accounting for most of the domestic transactions in the Southern African country. The ZWL went from 10,152.5 to USD 1 as of January 1, 2024, to 30,674.3 on April 1, 2024. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is introducing a gold-backed digital currency as a legal tender to stabilise its currency.
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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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  • 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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    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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  • 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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    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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  • The African countries with the highest life expectancies as of 2023 are: Algeria - 77 years, Tunisia - 77 years, Cape Verde - 77 years, Mauritius - 76 years.

    The African countries with the lowest life expectancies: Central African Republic - 55 years, Lesotho - 55 years, Nigeria - 54 years, Chad - 54 years.

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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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Other Insights
     
  • FIRS recorded ₦15.9 trillion of non-oil tax, almost three times the ₦5.8 trillion recorded for oil tax.
  • Non-oil tax revenue made up 73.3% of the total revenue collected in 2023.
  • From 2012 down to 2024, non-oil tax revenue surpassed oil tax revenue most of the time.
  • Oil taxes are petroleum profit tax and company income (oil & gas) tax while non-profit tax includes company income (non-oil) tax, gas tax, capital gains, stamp duty, NCS import VAT, and non-import VAT.
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  • The United States of America led the production of black liquor with 696.0PJ produced making up 38.9% of the global total produced in 2023.
  • South Africa is the only African country producing black liquor with 16.4PJ produced making up 1% of the global total.
  • The total amount of black liquor produced globally in 2023 was 1,787PJ.
  • Sweden, Canada, Finland and Japan produced 185.1PJ - 10.4%, 157.9PJ - 8.8%, 142.5PJ - 8.0% and 133.0PJ - 7.4% respectively.
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  • In 2023, South Africa produced 1.199 million tonnes of apples, making 32.5% of the total quantity of apples produced in Africa.
  • Only ten countries in Africa produced apples, making 3.8% of the global total of apples produced.
  • South Africa exported over 50% of the apples it produced in 2023.
  • Nigeria didn't produce but imported 44.73K tonnes of apples.
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  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is the highest charcoal-producing country in Africa with 274.62PJ (petajoules) of charcoal produced in 2023.
  • Nigeria is the ninth country on the list, with 43.76PJ.
  • The total amount of charcoal produced in Africa in 2023 was 1,367.26PJ.
  • Africa claims 69.2% of the total quantity of charcoal produced globally.
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  • Guinea-Bissau showed the highest agricultural contribution to its GDP at 36.8% in 2024.
  • Contributions range widely, with high reliance seen in Comoros (36.6%) and Ethiopia (34.9%), contrasting with lower percentages in DR Congo (17.1%) and Angola (16.4%).
  • Agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed a notable 20.4% to Nigeria's GDP in 2024.
  • Countries with high agricultural GDP contributions are predominantly located in West and East Africa.
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  • India tops the list of the global number of people unable to afford a decent meal with a value of 792.80 million causing unaffordability to prevail in the country by 55.6%.
  • China emerged as the second country in this global list with 208.10 million people falling in this category and unaffordability prevalence of 14.6%.
  • Nigeria claimed 6.2% of the global total with 175.6M, making it the 3rd country with the highest number of healthy diet unaffordability.
  • High number of people that could not afford a healthy diet does not outrightly equal high percentage of healthy diet unaffordability.
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  • Burkina Faso's GDP per capita rose from $248.9 in 2000 to an estimated $987.3 in 2024, marking a nearly 297% increase over 25 years.
  • The country saw its largest single-year jump between 2007 and 2008, rising $104.7 from $514.7 to $619.4.
  • Economic downturns were visible in 2009 (-2.9%), 2015 (-17.6%), and 2022 (-6.6%), showing vulnerability to shocks.
  • Since 2020, GDP per capita has grown 19.6%, with 2024 recording the highest value in the dataset.
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  • Estimates place Sierra Leone at the top, with about 64.5% of its GDP tied to the shadow economy.
  • Niger (56.3%) and Ethiopia (50.2%) are the only other nations where over half of economic activity is informal.
  • Even larger economies like Nigeria (30.0%) are estimated to have nearly a third of their GDP in unrecorded transactions.
  • Across the listed countries, estimates range from 28.1% to 64.5%, revealing deep but varied informality in African economies.
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  • The FIRS collected ₦21.7 trillion, outpacing the target of ₦19.4 trillion set by the government.
  • FIRS grossed its highest revenue of all time since 2012 in 2024.
  • Comparing the values of 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 reveals a significant shift.
  • The tax revenue collected in 2024 surpassed the amount collected in 2023 by an outstanding 75.6%.
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  • The highest-ranked countries have managed to provide electricity to every single citizen.
  • Four of the six countries with 100% access are from North Africa.
  • The list isn't a continuous climb; there's a big jump down from the 100% group to the rest of the top 15.
  • The data shows that with the right investment and policies, it is a very realistic goal for a country to achieve full electrification.
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  • Food prices rose roughly 13.9% from January to August 2025, according to the rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the National Bureau of Statistics.
  • Month-on-month inflation for food fluctuated, with some months seeing sharper increases than others.
  • Using January as a baseline, the purchasing power of money for food declined steadily, meaning households need more naira to buy the same items.
  • Food carries a large weight in the CPI basket, making it a major driver of overall inflation and cost-of-living increases.
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  • Kenya’s microfinance assets grew by just 1.62% between 2014 and 2024.
  • The sector peaked in 2019 at KSh 76.4B, before entering a steady decline.
  • 2023 (-8.8%) and 2024 (-9.8%) posted the steepest year-on-year declines.
  • The sector recorded only two notable growth spikes: 2015 (+21.9%) and 2019 (+7.9%).
  • Overall, the trend from 2020 onward shows persistent contraction in asset value.
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  • Kenya’s insurance sector PAT grew by 143% between 2017 and 2024.
  • The lowest point came in 2020, with profits dropping 57.7% to KSh 6.4B.
  • A sharp rebound followed, with profits rising steadily each year from 2021 to 2024.
  • The strongest yearly growth was in 2019, with a 108% surge in profits.
  • By 2024, PAT stood at KSh 33.1B, the highest in the seven-year period.
  • Profits more than quadrupled from 2020 (KSh 6.4B) to 2024 (KSh 33.1B).
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  • Gross premium income in Kenya’s insurance sector grew by 89.1% between 2017 and 2024.
  • Premiums rose from KSh 209.0B in 2017 to KSh 395.3B in 2024.
  • The most substantial annual growth occurred in 2023 at 17.6%.
  • 2021 also recorded a significant rise of 16.6% growth.
  • The slowest growth was observed in 2020, at just 2.3%, likely reflecting the impact of the pandemic.
  • Despite fluctuations, the sector has maintained an upward growth trajectory across the 7 years.
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  • Kenya’s insurance assets more than doubled in seven years, from KSh 591B in 2017 to KSh 1.2T in 2024.
  • This represents a 109.4% growth over the period.
  • The sector recorded positive growth every single year, with no declines.
  • The most substantial growth occurred in 2024, at 17%.
  • Asset growth averaged between 7.5% and 12.5% annually until the surge in 2024.
  • 2023 marked the first time assets crossed the KSh 1 trillion mark.
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  • Government securities consistently dominate, holding between 69% and 71% of total insurance assets.
  • In 2022, government securities reached their peak share at 71.4%.
  • Investments in subsidiaries fell steadily from 11.9% in 2021 to 8.4% in 2024.
  • Ordinary shares and investment property grew slightly, reaching 9.4% and 9.2% respectively, in 2024 and 2023.
  • Term deposits declined from 8.6% in 2021 to around 6.7% in 2024.
  • The sector made gradual diversification moves but remained highly concentrated in government securities.
  • The consistent focus on low-risk assets highlights insurers’ preference for stability and capital preservation.
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