Nigeria’s external debt up 6.6% to $145bn in 2025 – World Bank

Nigeria’s total external debt stock rose to $145.02 billion in 2025, representing a 6.6 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the World Bank.

The private non-guaranteed and short-term obligations accounted for more than half of the country’s external debt.

This is contained in the World Bank’s International Debt Report 2026 showing that Nigeria’s external debt increased from $83.21 billion in 2015 to $145.015 billion in 2025, a 74.3 per cent increase in 10 years.

Nigeria’s profile showed that public and publicly guaranteed debt accounted for $62.4 billion of the total, while private non-guaranteed debt stood at $54.476 billion. Short-term external debt accounted for another $28.139 billion.

This implies that Nigeria’s external debt exposure extends beyond direct government borrowing to include obligations contracted by private entities without public guarantees and short-term liabilities.

The World Bank report warned that rising debt stocks and debt-servicing obligations were putting pressure on developing economies, even as international capital markets reopened to some borrowers.

It said external debt across low- and middle-income countries increased by 5.5 per cent to a record $9.4 trillion in 2025, the largest annual increase in four years.

According to the report, the return to international capital markets had been uneven, with the poorest and most vulnerable countries facing borrowing costs not seen since the late 1980s.

In the report’s foreword, Haishan Fu, the Chief Statistician of the World Bank Group, said that the total debt-service burden of low- and middle-income countries had increased for a fifth consecutive year in 2025.

She said the rising debt-service burden was reducing the resources available for infrastructure, jobs, education, healthcare and other development priorities.

“Against this backdrop, knowing how much countries owe, to whom, and on what terms has never been more important. Without reliable and reconciled information, governments cannot manage debt effectively, creditors cannot assess risks accurately, and debt restructurings can become more difficult,” Ms Fu said.

The bank’s chief statistician said transparency was a shared responsibility requiring borrowers to maintain comprehensive and timely debt records, creditors to disclose information about their obligations and international institutions to strengthen reporting standards and debt-management systems.

“The message of this year’s report is clear: access to finance is not enough. We must know the debt, understand its terms, and ensure that the financing developing economies receive strengthens rather than constrains their ability to grow, withstand shocks, and improve the lives of their people,” she said.

A breakdown of Nigeria’s $62.4 billion in public and publicly guaranteed external debt showed that multilateral creditors accounted for $31.365 billion, bilateral creditors $6.683 billion and private creditors $24.352 billion.

The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) accounted for $18.533 billion of the multilateral debt, while International Monetary Fund credit and Special Drawing Rights allocations stood at $5.516 billion.

Also, other multilateral creditors accounted for $7.315 billion.

China was Nigeria’s largest bilateral creditor, with $5.672 billion, followed by France with $774 million, while other bilateral creditors accounted for $237 million.

The report also showed that Nigeria’s external debt-to-exports ratio stood at 212 per cent in 2025, while external debt as a share of Gross National Income was 51 per cent.

Debt service accounted for 19 per cent of exports and five per cent of GNI during the year.

On the terms of new borrowing, the report put the average maturity of Nigeria’s 2025 commitments from official creditors at 25 years, with a five-year grace period and an interest rate of 1.9 per cent.

However, new commitments from private creditors carried an average maturity of 12 years, an eight-year grace period and an interest rate of 9.6 per cent.

The report also highlighted Nigeria’s return to international capital markets, noting that the country, the third-largest issuer in Sub-Saharan Africa, raised $2.3 billion through a dual-tranche international bond issue in 2025.

One tranche had a 10-year maturity and an interest rate of 8.625 per cent, while the second had a 20-year maturity and an interest rate of 9.125 per cent.

It further disclosed that Nigeria entered into a $5 billion Total Return Swap transaction in 2026, with a three-year maturity and collateralisation of approximately 133 per cent, equivalent to about $6.7 billion in domestic securities.