Audience Insights: Who's Reading & Why

What I Know and Don't Know About You Guys

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for subscribing! As of July 22, 2024, I've reached over 2,000 subscribers, and I'm incredibly grateful for your support.

I've been a long-time lurker on Substack, joining the platform on February 9, 2021. However, I didn't make my first post until November 28, 2022.

Why did I make this Substack?

I was inspired by Asianometry, who made really good videos on economic development on Asia. So I wanted to do an Africa equivalent.

Maybe it was the channels I was following, but during my time on Reddit, Discord, Instagram, and Twitter, I rarely encountered data-driven perspectives on African countries. Instead, I often saw content filled with racism, rigid ideological thinking, conspiracies, ignorance, or "hopium" (hope + copium), which was detached from reality. I felt compelled to start writing.

What is my perspective?

#1: I think knowing pre-colonial history is very important. I've met people who believe African countries lacked civilization before European colonization, which is a disappointing level of ignorance. That's why I delve deeply into the pre-colonial histories of Sudan (Kerma, Kush, Meroe…), Ethiopia (Damot, Aksum, etc…) and Mali (Ghana, Sosso, Mali, Songhai).

#2:No African leader is beyond criticism. On YouTube, Reddit, and other platforms, you'll find documentaries that idolize certain leaders, creating a gap between their actual deeds and their glorified images. Thomas Sankara is a prime example. I discuss his legacy here.

#3: Development and Corruption: In my opinion, the belief that "we can't develop because corruption is endemic" is backwards. Corruption doesn't prevent development; rather, development reduces corruption. Every country that industrialized had significant patronage, corruption, and bribery during their growth. Reducing a form of corruption typically occurs after a country reaches a certain level of development. Countries must escape this cycle despite corruption. You can read more here.

#4:Agricultural Development: The most critical step for African countries' development is improving agricultural productivity, which is currently the worst in the world. While multiple strategies are necessary, many African countries have overly focused on cash crops, mining, and oil. If they don't transform their agricultural practices and modernize farming, climate change will continue to devastate the continent.

Where are most of my Subscribers from?

The Top 5 countries are United States, UK, Kenya, Canada, and South Africa

If we look at the top 10 countries, this is what I have:

Most of my audience is Western, but I also have a significant number of followers from Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria. Additionally, I have a sizable audience from India, which surprises me since I haven't yet discussed India extensively, and my knowledge of the nation is quite limited—I barely know anything about the Mughal Empire.

In the United States, nearly 50% of my audience comes from just five states:

Articles I recommend people read:

Every month, I try to alternate between an African article and non-African article:

Here are the top 5 African articles I've written that I highly recommend:
African Resources & Commodity Markets
Gabon
Guinea
Angola
The Global Commodity Cycle's Effect on Africa & the BRICS

Here are the top 5 non-African articles I've written that I highly recommend::
The Economics of Demographics
Regionalization in Global Trade
How Many Nations Embraced Globalized Trade?
The American Rust Belt
Who Dominates Global Trade?

Survey Data:

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