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  • In Q1 2024, there was a 146% increase in Nigeria's foreign trade value from ₦12.9t in Q1 2023, with exports reaching ₦19.2t, and surpassing the whole of 2020's exports (₦12.5t).

    The total trade value in the quarter reached nearly half of the total trade in 2023.

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    Seychelles has the most powerful passport in Africa in 2023, with visa-free access to 155 countries and territories, followed by Mauritius (148). Nigerian passport holders have visa-free access to 46 countries, one of the lowest in Africa. Africa's most powerful passports in 2023 by the number of travel destinations passport holders can travel to visa-free:

    Seychelles (155), Mauritius (148), South Africa (106), Botswana (89), Namibia (81), Lesotho (79), Eswatini (77), Kenya (76), Malawi (75), Tanzania (73).

    Africa's least powerful passports in 2023 by the number of travel destinations passport holders can travel to visa-free:
    Liberia (51), Djibouti (49), Ethiopia (47), Nigeria (46), South Sudan (46), DR Congo (45), Eritrea (44), Sudan (44), Libya (41), Somalia (35).

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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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  • 23 African countries are in one phase or the other in launching a digital currency
    Senegal's cancellation of its experiment with an eCFA in 2016 makes Nigeria's eNaira the only active Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Africa. Half of the countries in Africa are currently not doing anything about CBDC, while a larger share of the other half is currently in the research phase.
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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
  • 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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Share of global active Instagram users by continent (Jan. 2025)
  • Asia alone holds over half of Instagram’s global users (51%), more than all other continents combined.
  • America is the second-largest region with a 28.8% share (501.4M users).
  • Europe accounts for 14.1% of Instagram’s audience, showing a modest footprint.
  • Africa, with 91.3M users (5.2%), still has plenty of headroom for expansion.
  • Oceania holds just 1% of the global user base, with 17.5M active users.
  • The user gap between Asia and other continents points to a major opportunity for brands looking to scale in Asian markets.
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  • Africa’s largest net migration gain was in 1985, with +328K people.
  • The continent faced its steepest loss in 2010, with -998K.
  • 2020 was a standout year in recent decades with +248K net gain.
  • The 2024 net migration figure of -644K is the third-largest loss since 1955.
  • Despite a partial recovery in 2025 to -378K, losses still outweigh gains.
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  • Africa’s share of the global population has more than doubled, from 9.3% in 1955 to an estimated 18.8% in 2025.
  • The most rapid growth has occurred since 2000, increasing from 13.5% to 18.8% over 26 years.
  • Between 1980 and 2000, Africa’s share rose modestly from 10.9% to 13.5%.
  • The most significant 20-year gain occurred between 2000 and 2020, with an increase of 4 percentage points.
  • Population growth in Africa contrasts with stagnation or decline in many other parts of the world.
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  • Nigeria leads Africa with 1,630.83 points, ranked 36th globally, maintaining their long-standing supremacy in Africa's women’s football.
  • South Africa remains second, 165 points behind Nigeria, consolidating their position after consistent WAFCON performances.
  • North Africa's breakthrough is evident with Morocco at 3rd, driven by recent World Cup appearances and continental success.
  • There is tight competition in mid-table, with Zambia, Cameroon, and Ghana separated by less than 12 points.
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  • Nigeria’s D’Tigress leads Africa with 640.1 points, holding 8th place in the world rankings.
  • Mali sits in second with 343.7 points, more than 290 points behind Nigeria.
  • Senegal, Mozambique, and Cameroon complete Africa’s top five, all ranked within the global top 40.
  • South Sudan enters the continental top 10 at 10th, while ranking 55th globally.
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  • The USA dominates the rankings with 880.9 points, holding a significant lead over second-placed Australia (719.6).
  • France and China follow closely in 3rd and 4th, separated by just 6.5 points.
  • Nigeria’s D’Tigress ranks 8th globally with 640.1 points, the highest for any African nation.
  • Brazil and Serbia round out the top 10, both under 640 points.
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  • Nigeria led with 78.9 Mtoe, accounting for over 22% of Africa’s total oil output.
  • Algeria (59.3 Mtoe) and Angola (57.4 Mtoe) followed closely; the three top producers together supplied] 56% of the continent’s oil.
  • Africa’s total oil production was 345.5 Mtoe, just 7.6% of the global total (4,542.7 Mtoe).
  • The top 5 producers accounted for over 80% of Africa’s oil.
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