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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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    Countries by Global Innovation Index 2024

    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.

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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.

    See more
    Countries by Global Innovation Index 2024

    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.

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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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  • 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
 
  • Local companies dominated CIT contributions in most years, accounting for over 50% of payments in 9 of 11 periods between 2015 and 2025 (Q1–Q3).
  • Foreign companies briefly closed the gap in 2023, contributing 49%, the closest they have come to matching local firms.
  • Local companies recorded their strongest share in 2021 at 65%, marking the widest gap between local and foreign contributors.
  • “Other payments” peaked during the pandemic, rising to 17% in 2020 before dropping to 0% from 2022 onward.
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  • The highest number of grid collapses in the past 16 years occurred in 2010, with 42 incidents recorded.
  • During Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Nigeria’s grid collapsed an average of 24.4 times a year, the highest among the three administrations.
  • Under Muhammadu Buhari, the annual average dropped to 12.8 collapses per year, indicating improved grid stability compared to earlier years.
  • Under Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the average has fallen further to about 6.7 collapses annually.
  • 2016 recorded the highest number of collapses during the Buhari administration, with 28 incidents.
  • The most stable years in the dataset were 2020 and 2021, with only four collapses each.
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  • 26 companies on NGX are valued above ₦1 trillion.
  • MTN Nigeria leads at ₦16.38 trillion, making it the most valuable listed company.
  • The top three firms (MTN Nigeria, BUA Foods, and Dangote Cement) are far ahead of the rest, each exceeding ₦13 trillion.
  • 9 of the 26 companies are in the financial services sector.
  • Telecoms and manufacturing dominate the upper tier, highlighting infrastructure and essential services as market anchors.
  • Energy companies are firmly positioned, reflecting their central role in the economy.
  • Market concentration is high, as a few giants carry disproportionate weight relative to the 122 sub-₦1 trillion firms.
  • Sector diversity exists within the top 26, but most belong to industries tied to basic economic activity rather than emerging tech or high-growth startups.
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  • Over 551,800 Africans were recruited by European powers during World War I.
  • Approximately 86,100 African recruits died, representing a 13.5% fatality.
  • North Africa supplied the most recruits (260,000), slightly ahead of West Africa (250,600).
  • West Africa recorded the highest deaths (36,500) among the regions.
  • East Africa contributed 117,900 recruits, with 13,200 deaths.
  • Southern Africa’s involvement was significantly smaller — 9,500 recruits and 560 deaths.
  • Africa’s participation was geographically uneven, shaped by colonial control and military strategy.
  • More than one in eight recruits did not return, highlighting the human cost beyond battlefield narratives.
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  • Nigeria’s 2026 defence budget is $3.9 billion, placing it far below the top global spenders.
  • It is just 0.5% of the US’ $831.5 billion budget, highlighting a massive scale difference.
  • Compared to China ($303 billion), Nigeria’s budget is only 1.3%.
  • Nigeria’s allocation equals 1.8% of Russia’s $212.6 billion allocation.
  • Even a mid-tier top spender like Australia ($57.4 billion) has a budget almost 15x Nigeria’s.
  • Nigeria’s budget is only 3.6% of India’s $109 billion defence allocation.
  • European powers such as the UK ($88.5 billion), France ($67.2 billion), and Germany ($127.4 billion) all have defence budgets that dwarf Nigeria’s allocation
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  • Local companies dominated CIT contributions in most years, accounting for over 50% of payments in 9 of 11 periods between 2015 and 2025 (Q1–Q3).
  • Foreign companies briefly closed the gap in 2023, contributing 49%, the closest they have come to matching local firms.p
  • Local companies recorded their strongest share in 2021 at 65%, marking the widest gap between local and foreign contributors.
  • “Other payments” peaked during the pandemic, rising to 17% in 2020 before dropping to 0% from 2022 onward.
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  • Niger (76%), the Central African Republic (61%), and Chad (61%) top the global list, meaning the majority of women in these countries marry as children.
  • Seven of the top ten countries by prevalence are African, showing that child marriage is most entrenched relative to population on the continent.
  • Countries in South Asia — Bangladesh (51%) and Nepal (35%) — and Latin America — Suriname (36%) and Belize (34%) — also feature, highlighting the global nature of the challenge.
  • While some countries have larger populations, this list ranks the share of girls affected, not the absolute number, meaning even smaller populations can show extreme societal impact if the prevalence is high.
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  1. Nigeria ranks first with 7.3 million estimated users — over 2.8 million more than Egypt.
  2. Egypt (4.5 million) and South Africa (3.1 million) follow, forming the top three markets.
  3. The top three countries account for nearly 60% of the total users across the ten listed countries.
  4. The gap between first (7.3 million) and tenth (Tunisia, 322,000) is more than 6.9 million users, highlighting wide market disparities.
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  • Since its 2019 IPO, Jumia Group has accumulated over $1 billion in total losses, with 2019 marking its highest annual loss at $254.2 million.
  • Losses remained elevated between 2020 and 2022, consistently exceeding $180 million annually despite post-IPO restructuring efforts.
  • From 2023 onwards, annual losses dropped sharply — falling below $105 million for the first time since listing — following the shutdown of underperforming business units across African markets.
  • By 2025, losses declined further to $60.1 million, representing the company’s lowest annual loss in nine years and signalling the sustained impact of its cost-reduction strategy.
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  • With revenue per screen of ₦ 271.6 million, EbonyLife Cinemas outperforms other top cinemas in West Africa.
  • Several Genesis and FilmHouse branches fall within the strong mid-tier cluster, with revenue per screen ranging from ₦100 million to ₦160 million.
  • Lower-tier cinemas still generate ₦40 million to ₦70 million per screen
  • Revenue per-screen metric reveals the operational efficiency of the cinemas
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  • Nigeria is the fastest to reach $100B — 34 years, achieving the milestone in 1994.
  • Ethiopia took the longest — 81 years, reaching the mark in 2022 after decades of gradual expansion.
  • Resource-driven economies reached the threshold faster, including Angola (36 years) and Algeria (43 years).
  • North African economies crossed earlier, with Egypt (1989) and Morocco (2008) benefiting from diversified economic bases.
  • South Africa reached $100B as early as 1988, reflecting its long-standing industrial and financial depth.
  • Ghana is among the slowest climbers (68 years), but its recent 2025 milestone shows the impact of sustained reforms and growth.
  • Speed varies widely (34 to 81 years), showing that growth paths across Africa are shaped by very different economic realities.
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  • South Africa leads with 61 facilities, accounting for 21.6% of the continent’s total
  • Nigeria (25) and Kenya (19) complete the top three countries with major digital infrastructure hubs
  • Many countries operate with fewer than five facilities
  • Eighteen countries have just one data centre each
  • As cloud adoption, fintech, streaming, and AI grow, new regional hubs are likely to emerge beyond today’s leaders.
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  • Nigeria’s youngest serving governor is Usman Ahmed Ododo of Kogi state at 48 years old.
  • The oldest serving governors are Bala Mohammed and Hope Uzodimma, both aged 67.
  • President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is 73 years old, making him older than every sitting governor.
  • Tinubu is 25 years older than the youngest governor and six years older than the oldest governors.
  • A number of governors are in their late 50s, including Seyi Makinde, Hyacinth Alia, and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
  • The age distribution suggests that Nigeria’s state leadership is largely dominated by experienced, older political figures rather than younger politicians.
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  • The All Progressives Congress (APC) currently controls 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 state governors' seats.
  • This means about 86.1% of Nigeria’s governors belong to the APC, showing the party’s strong dominance at the state level.
  • Only five states are governed by parties other than the APC.
  • The People's Democratic Party governs two states, making it the largest opposition presence among governors.
  • The Labour Party, APGA, and Accord Parties control one state governorship each.
  • With most states now aligned with the ruling party, the balance of political power at the state level in Nigeria is heavily tilted toward the APC.
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  • Crude oil alone accounts for 55.7% of all exports. Remove it and Nigeria runs a ₦26.7tn trade deficit. The entire surplus rests on one commodity.
  • Nigeria imports ₦31.97tn in manufactured goods but exports only ₦2.50tn, a 12-to-1 ratio that reflects near-total dependence on foreign industrial output.
  • Nigeria exports ₦25.3tn in petroleum products yet imports ₦13.3tn of refined petroleum. Africa's top oil producer still can't fully process its own crude.
  • Despite Nigeria's vast farmland, agri-exports (₦5.07tn) barely exceed agri-imports (₦4.76tn). The sector earns almost nothing net.
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  • Over 85x growth in 20 years; total pension contributions grew from ₦15.6 billion in 2004 to ₦1.37 trillion in 2024.
  • In Q1–Q3 2025, private-sector contributions (₦744 billion) surpassed those of the public sector (₦574 billion).
  • Contributions declined in 2015 and 2016 as crashing oil revenues choked government remittances, and again in 2021 amid COVID-19 disruptions.
  • Each time, the system recovered within a year, proving its foundations hold even under severe macro pressure
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  • Life Business was the single largest segment, and its 70.3% jump signals that more Nigerians are thinking seriously about financial protection for their families.
  • Miscellaneous, the smallest segment, posted the biggest growth at 86.7%, suggesting new and unconventional insurance products are gaining serious traction.
  • Aviation & Marine nearly doubled, with 79.9% growth in a sector tied to trade and logistics, reflecting Nigeria's expanding import/export activity and the rising cost of cargo and aircraft risk coverage.
  • Motor (52.5%), Fire (53.3%), and General Accident (49.6%) grew by roughly half, indicating broad-based sector expansion rather than isolated pockets of growth.
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  • South Africa leads in headcount, with seven billionaires, more than other African countries.
  • Nigeria leads in wealth, with four billionaires worth $47.5 billion, $4.5 billion more than the combined $43 billion of South Africa's seven billionaires.
  • Nigeria's billionaires are richer individually, with an average net worth of $11.9 billion, compared with South Africa's $6.1 billion.
  • North Africa punches below its weight: Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria have ten billionaires combined but just $31.4 billion in total wealth.
  • East Africa barely registers: Tanzania and Zimbabwe each have just one billionaire, both worth $2.1 billion.
 
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