For this Africa special issue, our aim was to showcase the work, perspectives, and priorities of African statisticians and the developments and opportunities in statistics and data science within the African context. We sought, first and foremost, contributions by African statisticians and data scientists but gave any high-quality submission consideration as long as it addressed pressing issues faced by African communities, civil society, governments, and organisations.
Our authors and interviewees highlight a range of data-related issues.
Some are universally recognised: for example, the importance of inclusive, statistics-based policy-making, the value and funding of official statistics and the challenges of a fragmented data landscape and digitisation.
Other questions the people in this issue raise are particularly pertinent to Africa: the agency of the continent, and the opportunities to be recognised in the face of major developments, including US funding cuts. Stopping “brain drain” is also highlighted as a priority. And yes, inevitably, AI crops up too…
September 2025 issue highlights:
Agricultural data
Why data collaboration is the key to tackling food insecurity across Africa
Modernising examination management
Namibia is leading the way on digital transformation to benefit schoolchildren
Reaching the right people
Improving social protection programmes in Mali
Deforestation and satellite data
Evidence-driven decision-making in Cameroon
Citizen data
Data-gathering apps in Ghana and Kenya
Interview: Tinfissi-Joseph Ilboudo
Head of the African Centre for Statistics (UNECA) in Ethiopia
Interview: Muhammed Semakula
The medical statistician and senior civil servant in Rwanda
AI in Africa
Africa has “plenty of ideas, but little support”, says a Ugandan data scientist
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