• Italy alone accounts for 217 popes, dominating papal history more than any other region or country.
• France, the second-most represented, has had only 16 popes, which is fewer than one-tenth of Italy's total.
• Germany and Syria have had 6 and 5 popes respectively, reflecting early and medieval Church dynamics.
• Africa has had just 3 popes.
• Modern nations like Argentina, Poland, and the Netherlands have produced only 1 pope each.
• Israel (3), Greece (4), and Turkey (2) are notable for their ancient Christian histories but limited papal presence in modern times.

• Nigeria spent $6 million on its first post-independence census in 1962.
• There is no publicly available data on the amount spent during the 1991 census.
• By 2006, census spending had surged to $266 million, highlighting a significant increase in the cost of national population counts.
• The budget for the upcoming 2025 census has not yet been disclosed.
• In April 2025, President Tinubu inaugurated the National Census Committee and gave a three-week deadline to submit a detailed report.

Key takeaways:

• Kano State received the highest allocation at ₦1.23 billion, accounting for 5.7% of the total NPHCDA Gateway fund.
• Katsina followed closely with an allocation of nearly 4%.
• Five of the top ten recipient states are from Southern Nigeria, while the other five are from the Northern part of Nigeria.
• Southern states (Osun, Oyo, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and Imo) featured prominently, together receiving approximately 19% of the total disbursement.
• The top ten states collectively received ₦8.30 billion, representing 38.6% of the total fund.
• In total, ₦21.51 billion was disbursed to all states under the NPHCDA Gateway in 2024.

• India led globally for 21 of 24 years, followed by China (2) and Mexico (1)
• No African country ever topped global remittance inflow rankings
• Nigeria ranked among the top 10 recipients for several of the years
• India’s dominance reflects its large global diaspora and steady labour migration
• China’s brief lead came in the early 2000s but it was overtaken quickly
• Mexico in the top spot for one year was tied to strong remittance links with the US
• The top countries rarely changed, showing a stable global remittance pattern
• Most global leaders have large populations abroad in high-income economies
• Global remittances remain a major economic lifeline for developing countries

• Egypt had the highest total remittance inflows across all years in the dataset.
• Nigeria was consistently among the top 3 recipients every year, topping the chart for 13 years.
• Morocco and Ghana showed strong, stable inflows throughout the 2000–2023 period.
• Kenya and Senegal experienced some of the fastest remittance growth from 2000 to recent years.
• Rwanda had high percentage growth, though starting from a small base.
• A noticeable dip occurred in 2020 for most countries, likely linked to COVID-19 — followed by recovery in 2021 and 2022.

Key takeaways:

• Kano State received the highest individual allocation, totalling ₦1.43 billion, which accounts for 6% of the overall disbursement.
• The North-West region received the largest regional share, with ₦7.16 billion of the total NHIA Gateway Fund.
• The South-West received the smallest regional allocation, amounting to nearly 10% of the total.
• The top ten recipient states collectively received ₦10.07 billion, representing 42.1% of the entire fund.
• The Southern regions collectively received 42% of total disbursement.
• The total NHIA Gateway Fund disbursed in 2024 amounted to ₦23.92 billion.

Key Takeaways:

• Kaduna led national corn production on average, contributing 8% of total output, between 450,000 and 947,000 metric tons.
• Niger, Gombe, Borno, Plateau, and Taraba followed closely, each accounting for 5–6% of the total output on average.
• Corn production is heavily concentrated in the North-Central and North-East regions.
• Kaduna and Niger together accounted for 14% of Nigeria’s corn output on average.
• The top 10 corn-producing states, all located in northern Nigeria, on average contributed 47% of the national total.
• Southern states such as Osun and Ondo contributed modest but notable shares, each representing 3% of national production on average.

Key takeaways:

• Kano State received the highest allocation, totalling ₦2.67 billion, which accounts for 5.9% of the entire fund.
• Nine out of the top ten recipient states are located in Northern Nigeria.
• Enugu is the sole Southern state to appear among the top ten beneficiaries.
• The top ten states collectively received ₦16.94 billion, representing 37.3% of the total fund disbursed.
• In total, ₦45.43 billion was disbursed to all 36 states and the FCT in 2024.

Key Takeaways:

• Cameroon’s IMF debt decreased from SDR 70.6 million in 2016 to SDR 49.1 million in 2017—a 30% reduction.
• From 2018 onwards, the country experienced steady increases in outstanding debt.
• After an initial 30% reduction from 2016 to 2017, debt skyrocketed by 380% in just one year (2017-2018).
• By March 2025, Cameroon’s outstanding debt had reached SDR 1.18 billion, representing a staggering SDR 1.13 billion increase from its 2017 level.
• Although the pace of accumulation has moderated in recent years, the overall debt trend remains upward.

Key Takeaways:

• The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reduced its external debt significantly from SDR 263 million in 2016 to SDR 69.3 million by 2019.
• A sharp reversal occurred in 2020, with debt surging by 327% within a single year, from SDR 69.3 million in 2019 to SDR 296.2 million.
• Over the decade from 2016 to 2025, the country’s debt increased by 580%, reaching SDR 1.79 billion by March 2025.
• From 2020 to 2025, the DRC has accumulated over SDR 1.49 billion in new debt.

• Gold hit its trough at $1,985/oz in February 2024, marking the low before an uninterrupted rally.
• After a spring consolidation, gold surged past $2,500/oz in September 2024 (peaking then at $2,546), signaling broadening investor demand.
• The metal first cracked the $3,000/oz threshold in March 2025 when it reached $3,026, underscoring accelerating momentum.
• That rally culminated in a new record of $3,323/oz in April 2025, a 67.5% gain from the February 2024 low.

• A staggering 96.3% of users access the internet via mobile devices, making smartphones the most important digital tools in the world today.
• While 82.7% of the global urban population is online, only 47.4% of the rural population has access. That’s a huge gap that reflects deep inequalities in infrastructure and digital opportunity.
• Spending 6 hours and 38 minutes online every day isn’t just scrolling time; it’s a shift in how humans live, learn, and earn. It’s equivalent to more than 100 full days online per year per person.
• Although mobile dominates, 61.5% of users still access the internet through computers, proving that traditional devices still matter for work, school, or content creation.
• While 70% of men use the internet, 65.7% of women do. This gap may seem small, but on a global scale, it represents millions of women without access to tools for learning, income, and visibility.
• With billions spending almost 7 hours daily online, the internet is where decisions are made, opinions are formed, and lives are influenced.