Nigeria’s exterior debt hits $145bn as servicing burden rises — World Bank

News

By Linda Ikeji
6 November 2026, 5:22 pm

Nigeria’s exterior debt rose to $145.015 billion in 2025, up 6.6 per cent from the earlier yr, in response to the World Bank’s International Debt Report 2026. The determine represents a rise of about $61.8 billion, or 74.3 per cent, from the $83.213 billion recorded in 2015.

Public and publicly assured debt accounted for $62.4 billion of the full. Private debt with out authorities ensures stood at $54.476 billion, whereas short-term exterior debt amounted to $28.139 billion.

Multilateral establishments held the biggest share of Nigeria’s public and publicly assured exterior debt at $31.365 billion. Private collectors accounted for $24.352 billion, whereas bilateral collectors had been owed $6.683 billion.

The World Bank’s International Development Association accounted for $18.533 billion of the multilateral debt. International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights allocations stood at $5.516 billion. China remained Nigeria’s largest bilateral creditor, with $5.672 billion owed. France accounted for $774 million, whereas different bilateral collectors held $237 million.

Although the debt inventory elevated, Nigeria recorded enhancements in two indicators measuring its exterior debt burden. External debt relative to exports declined by 4.3 per cent to 212 per cent, whereas the debt-to-Gross National Income ratio fell by 6.6 per cent to 51 per cent.

Debt servicing, nevertheless, took a bigger share of exports and nationwide earnings. External debt service relative to exports rose by 9.6 per cent to 19 per cent, whereas debt service as a proportion of Gross National Income elevated by 6.9 per cent to 5 per cent.

Across low- and middle-income international locations, debt-service funds reached $1.4 trillion in 2025, marking a fifth consecutive annual improve. The World Bank stated funds rose by 1.9 per cent, largely due to obligations to personal collectors, significantly worldwide bondholders. Between 2022 and 2025, international locations coated by the report paid roughly $436.1 billion extra in debt servicing than they acquired in new financing.

The annual development reversed in 2025, when long-term debt flows recorded a internet influx of $45.4 billion, in contrast with a internet outflow of $118.4 billion in 2024. The report additionally highlighted a considerable distinction in the price and phrases of borrowing from official and personal collectors.

New commitments from official collectors carried a mean rate of interest of 1.9 per cent in 2025, with a 25-year maturity and a five-year grace interval. Private collectors, by comparability, charged a mean rate of interest of 9.6 per cent, with a 12-year maturity and an eight-year grace interval.