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  • In 2022, the US hosted a diverse African immigrant community, totaling over 2.75 million. ​​ ​Nigerians make up the largest group at 448,405 (16.3%), followed by Ethiopians (10.6%), Egyptians (8.3%), and Ghanaians (7.8%).

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    Top ten natural rubber-producing countries (1990-2022)
    Côte d'Ivoire emerged as the world's fourth-largest producer of natural rubber in 2022. Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Liberia are the only African countries in the top ten between 1990 and 2022.
    Nigeria was among the top ten until 2010, but as of 2022, Côte d'Ivoire was the only African country in the top ten producers. 
    Asian countries have historically led the world's natural rubber production, with the top seven countries — Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, China, and Philippines — producing 87% of the global output between 1990 and 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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  • Top ten cocoa-producing countries in the world in 2020

    In 2020, 5.2 million metric tons of cocoa were produced globally, with four African countries — Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon — accounting for 68% of the produce.

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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
Number-of-Africans-who-use-each-selected-social-media-platform-as-of-January-2025
 
  • Facebook leads Africa’s social media use with 291.1M users, accounting for 12.7% of its global base.
  • TikTok holds second place with 189.3M African users, representing 11.9% of TikTok's global audience.
  • Meta dominates among the top four platforms with Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram.
  • LinkedIn’s 82.99M users show a strong uptake in professional networking, amounting to 5.3% of the platform’s global users.
  • Twitter (X) is used by 27.85M Africans, representing 4.8% of its global base—smallest on the chart, but still impactful.
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Share of global active TikTok users by continent (Jan. 2025)
 
  • Asia accounts for 39.6% of global TikTok users, the largest regional share.
  • America follows with 31.7% of the global TikTok user base.
  • Africa represents 11.9% of active TikTok users globally, totaling 189.3 million.
  • Oceania has the smallest share with 10 million users or just 0.6% globally.
  • Asia and America combined make up over 71% of all TikTok users worldwide.
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  • Institutional loans lead slightly, with 552,009 applications, showing a strong need for tuition and direct school-related expenses.
  • Upkeep loans are not far behind, at 519,964 applications, highlighting the importance of financial support beyond school fees.
  • Combined, over 1 million applications reveal a large and growing demand for structured educational funding in Nigeria.
  • The close margin suggests dual pressure: students aren’t just struggling to pay fees, but also to survive the cost of schooling.
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Key Takeaways:

  • MTN remains the market leader, growing from an average of 26 million subscribers in 2013 to an average of 75 million by early 2025.
  • The average active data subscribers for MTN was over 75 million in early 2025.
  • Airtel saw consistent growth, rising from 8.2 million in 2013 to 48.7 million in 2025, on average.
  • Globacom’s average data subscriber base peaked in 2023 at 43.7 million but fell sharply by 2025 to 15.8 million.
  • 9mobile's average data subscriber base in 2025 dropped to just 1.8 million from its 2016 peak of 15.2 million.
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Key Takeaways:

  • Lockheed Martin leads with $60.8 billion in arms revenue.
  • The top ten companies' combined revenue from arms production was $307.3 billion.
  • The top five corporations are all from the United States.
  • BAE Systems, based in the United Kingdom, remains Europe's strongest defence contractor, ranking sixth.
  • Russia and the United Kingdom each have one company among the top ten.
  • China secures three slots in the top 10, with a total revenue of $57.5 billion.
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Key Takeaways:

  • In 2023, Nigeria's kola nut production reached a peak of 188,703.54 tonnes.
  • Following a decline in production from 1994 to 2006, production rose dramatically from 2007 onwards.
  • Between 1997 and 2001, production was lowest, at only 82,000 tonnes.
  • The 2010s saw steady growth, fuelled by increased agricultural investment and possibly rising domestic or export demand.
  • The average production from 1994 to 2006 was 86,698.12 tonnes.
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  • Student loan applications peaked sharply in August 2024 with 91K submissions, marking the highest monthly volume within the 13-month period.
  • After August’s spike, applications declined steeply, hitting a low of 18K in December 2024.
  • A resurgence began in January 2025, leading to a second wave of activity that reached 59K applications in April 2025, the second-highest month.
  • Monthly application volumes remained volatile, reflecting fluctuating demand and possible cycles tied to academic calendars or policy updates.
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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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  • Lagos receives the highest average monthly grid supply at 1,051 MW, accounting for 26% of national distribution.
  • The South West (excluding Lagos) comes second with 569 MW.
  • Abuja alone receives 435 MW, higher than the North Central zone at 396 MW.
  • The North East receives the least electricity from the grid, with only 199 MW monthly on average.
  • The combined total for Lagos and the rest of the South West is 1,620 MW, roughly 40% of national grid supply.
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  • Between 2013 and 2025, Nigeria has dominated the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), winning 8 out of 11 awards for Best Overall Movie.
  • Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana have each won the top prize once, highlighting Nigeria’s influence on African cinema.
  • This trend reflects both the scale and consistency of Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, which has outpaced its regional peers in terms of production volume, distribution, and local audience engagement.
  • While other countries show occasional excellence, Nigeria remains the cultural and commercial centre of African filmmaking.
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  • Union Bank began as Colonial Bank, later Barclays Bank DCO, before indigenisation in 1979.
  • Nigerian investors took majority control, renaming it Union Bank of Nigeria.
  • The 2009 banking crisis weakened the bank; AMCON stabilised it, while Union Global Partners Ltd injected $500m for 65% control.
  • Titan Trust Bank acquired up to 100% ownership, and Union Bank was delisted from the Nigerian Exchange.
  • A court-approved scheme merged Titan Trust into Union Bank; Union Bank survived, retaining its century-old name and legacy under Titan’s ownership.
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  • Fibre cuts were responsible for 51.7% of mobile network disruptions between April and July 2025.
  • Power outages followed at 28.1%, making infrastructure issues the dominant cause overall.
  • Together, fibre cuts and power outages accounted for nearly 80% of service disruptions.
  • The “Others” category, which includes congestion, equipment theft, and natural disasters, accounted for 13.9% of disruptions.
  • Infrastructure and environmental factors remain the leading threats to mobile network reliability.
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  • From 1970 through the early 2000s, Egypt’s debt interest payments hovered mostly under $1.5 billion, with fluctuations tied to global oil shocks and debt rescheduling.
  • Payments remained relatively moderate, ranging between $0.7–$1.0 billion annually.
  • Following Egypt’s 2016 IMF programme and rising external borrowing, payments jumped dramatically, climbing from $1.53 billion in 2016 to $6.13 billion in 2022.
  • Interest payments hit an all-time high of $9.47 billion in 2023, underscoring the heavy burden of Egypt’s rapid debt accumulation and exposure to global financing costs.
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