So this is quizmas: our inaugural holiday face-off

What It Covers

The Economist hosts its first annual end-of-year quiz show, testing staff knowledge on 2025's major news events, from political upheavals and AI developments to pop culture moments and global economic shifts.

Key Questions Answered

• •Global scam economy: The worldwide scam industry steals approximately $500 billion annually from victims, a figure likely underestimated due to unreported fraud and the difficulty of tracking cross-border digital crimes across jurisdictions.
• •Iran's economic pivot: Facing oil export sanctions, Iran now supplies 90% of cauliflowers, tomatoes, and watermelons imported by the United Arab Emirates, building a near-monopoly in agricultural exports within just a few years.
• •Buy-now-pay-later explosion: BNPL financing now accounts for $342 billion in global spending, up from just $2 billion a decade ago, representing a 171-fold increase as companies like Klarna and Affirm dominate consumer credit markets.
• •Christmas manufacturing concentration: Nearly two-thirds of the world's Christmas products are manufactured in Yiwu, China, an inland city in Zhejiang province that has been significantly impacted by American tariffs in 2025.