Two countries in comparison: Nigeria & South Africa

 

Two countries in comparison:

(NIGERIA): The state of Nigeria economy today?

"Nigeria has made meaningful progress in restoring macroeconomic stability following the implementation of bold reforms. Inflation has eased markedly, external and fiscal positions have strengthened, and economic growth has remained robust, driven largely by services."

The official unemployment rate in Nigeria is approximately 4.3% to 5.0%, according to recent figures from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the International Labour Organization (ILOSTAT).

(SOUTH AFRICA): The state of South African economy today?

Income per capita remains below 2007 levels, and close to 60% of South Africans are estimated to live below the upper-middle-income poverty line. Unemployment remained above 30% in 2025, averaging 32.4% and affecting more than 8 million people. Inflation eased to 3.2% in 2025, from 4.4% the year before.

By Olagunju Success Taiwo

Nigeria’s capital importation rose to $10.37 billion in Q1: NBS

The figure indicates an 83.83 per cent increase from the first quarter of 2025.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the total capital importation into Nigeria stood at $10,371.90 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

The NBS said this in its Nigeria Capital Importation Q1 2026 report released in Abuja on Friday.

The figure is higher than the $5,642.07 billion recorded in Q1 2025, indicating an 83.83 per cent year-on-year increase.

Full story at People Gazette.

By News Agency of Nigeria.

Nigeria loses $718m World Bank power sector loan as reforms stall, tariff shortfalls hit ₦1.9tn

Nigeria and the World Bank have cancelled $717.7m in undisbursed power sector funding after key electricity reforms stalled, tariff shortfalls surged to N1.9tn, and sector financing challenges worsened.

Nigeria has lost access to about $717.7m in undisbursed World Bank financing after the Federal Government and the global lender agreed to cancel the remaining balance under the country’s Power Sector Recovery Programme.

The cancellation, confirmed in new World Bank restructuring documents, effectively brings an end to the broader $1.52bn electricity sector reform programme earlier than planned.

By Precious Omolu

Full story at Pulse NG

SpaceX files IPO prospectus, offering a peek into its finances

Starlink satellite dish, an internet constellation operated
by SpaceX, is installed on the wall of an apartment building.
View from the window of the apartment. ·
AntaresNS via Getty Images

SpaceX (SPAX.PVT) has finally offered investors a public view of its internal finances, filing its S-1 IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of its investor road show, reportedly planned for June 5.

For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the rocket company, which will trade under the ticker “SPCX” on the Nasdaq, reported revenue on a consolidated basis of $4.694 billion, a loss from operations of $1.943 billion, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.127 billion. In 2025, SpaceX generated revenue on a consolidated basis of $18.674 billion, and a loss from operations of $2.589 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $6.584 billion.

SpaceX said its Space and Connectivity segments contributed the “substantial majority of consolidated revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2026, and the year ended December 31, 2025.”

By Pras Subramanian

Full story at Yahoo News.

Unemployment rate ticks up to 5% and wage growth slows

The UK's jobless rate has ticked up to 5% and the pace of basic wage growth has eased further as the country faces down a fresh energy-led price shock.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been expected to show no movement in the unemployment rate over the three months to March from the 4.9% reported last month.

These were the first figures to take in the first weeks of the US-Iran war that prompted a sharp rise in oil and gas costs, with the resulting lift in fuel prices hurting businesses and families almost immediately.

By Sky News

Full story at Yahoo News

Pay is rising on paper, but South Africans are getting poorer

South Africans may be earning slightly more, but rising costs are eroding those gains, leaving households worse off in real terms.

The average net salary edged up to R21,508 in March 2026, a marginal 0.1% increase month-on-month and 2.3% higher than a year ago. However, once inflation is taken into account, net salaries declined by about 1% in real terms over the first quarter of the year, according to the PayInc Net Salary Index.

The PayInc Net Salary Index tracks the average nominal net salaries of about 2.1 million South African earners. Remaining above year-ago levels, the data points to a stabilisation in net salaries over the first quarter of 2026.

Full story at IOL

By Nicola Mawson