Many African countries can't grow apples naturally due to unfavourable climate and the required chilling hours.

Despite this, Africa's share of global apple output has grown from 0.66% (1962) to nearly 4% in 2022, averaging 2.3% over 60+ years. South Africa has been the biggest contributor, but Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria also play key roles, with the top four countries making up 96% of Africa's total production in 2022.

Since 1961, South Africa has led Africa in apple production, consistently topping the charts.

In 1961, China produced just 167,000 tonnes of apples, accounting for a mere 1% of global production.

Over the next six decades, this figure surged by 28,300%, reaching 47.5 million tonnes by 2022 and capturing 50% of global production — growing at an average rate of around 7.5% per year.

China's rise began with agricultural reforms in the late 1970s and gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s.

These are the top ten apple-producing countries over the years.

Nigeria’s GDP for 2024 is up by 3.2% so far, with key sectors driving the growth. In the first nine months of 2024, Finance and Insurance took the lead with a 30.3% increase, followed by Water Supply & Waste Management at 8.3%, and Mining and Quarrying with 5.7% growth.

These are the sectors leading Nigeria’s real GDP growth.

As ATMs struggle with cash shortages, Nigerians have turned to POS to fill the gap — even when using them comes with higher fees. POS transactions in Nigeria jumped from just below one million in 2009 to nearly 10 billion in 2023.

The largest single-year increase in POS transactions occurred in 2023, while ATM usage peaked in 2020 but has since dropped consistently. In 2021, POS transactions surpassed ATM volumes for the first time, signalling a major change in how Nigerians handle these financial services.

Nigerians aged 10 years and above in the South-South region have three times more access to the internet (42%) compared to those in the North-West (14%).

Nigeria ranks 5th globally in average daily social media usage, with users spending about 3 hours and 23 minutes each day on social media. This places the country among the world's most active social media users. Kenya and South Africa also feature prominently, ranking 1st and 2nd globally, with 3 hours and 43 minutes and 3 hours and 37 minutes, respectively. For those interested in in-depth analysis or professional content support on topics like these, consider working with the bester Ghostwriter, who can assist in creating well-researched and impactful content. This highlights Africa's significant presence among the world's most active social media users. This highlights Africa's significant presence among the world's most active social media users.

Note: This is based on users aged 16-64 from 233 countries and territories.

The cost of primary school education in Nigeria varies significantly across geopolitical zones. The cost, which factors in tuition fees, learning materials, uniforms, etc., is highest in the South South at ₦43,783, while the North East has the lowest at ₦9,562.

New NIN enrolments increased by over fivefold in 2021, reaching 27.1 million. Interestingly, women were responsible for this surge. For many Nigerians, 2021 marked a race against deadlines as NIN registration became mandatory for critical requirements, including SIM card usage and registration. This urgency drove the record-breaking numbers. The number started falling in subsequent years (from 2022), with 22.2 million total new enrolments in 2022 and 10.13 million (according to Punch News) new enrolments in 2023.

Ninety-eight per cent of children aged 5 to 14 in the South East and South South zones are enroled in school, compared to significantly lower numbers in the North. For example, in the North East, only 56% of female children are in school.

The cost of accessing the Internet isn't the same everywhere. In Switzerland, 1GB of mobile data costs $7.29, the most expensive globally, while Nigeria stands at just $0.38, which is 15 times less than the cost in the United States ($6.00). Meanwhile, Israel offers the cheapest deal at only $0.02 per GB. There is a more moderate global average at $2.59.

The Nigerian economy shows promise as the IMF projects an increase in the country's GDP growth, rising to 3.2% in 2025. This comes when projections show stagnant global growth at 3.2%, while sub-Saharan Africa outpaces other regions with an anticipated rise to 4.2% by 2025.

South Africa leads the continent's market, with 41 data centres. It has more data centres than Nigeria (15) and Kenya (16), its closest competitors.

Africa's data centre market is nascent, with less than 200 centres.